Succumb to the Charm
by Mutinous Pirate
Summary: HIATUS/REWRITE.
1. Haunting My Brain

Disclaimer: Directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Co. and distributed by Warner Bros therefore, I own nothing! Nothing at all... *sob, sniffle*****

"Lydia." Barbara called from behind the door. "Please let me in, we're alone. Your parents are still at the meeting and Adam went out to 'buy' some things. I just want to talk to you, Lydia." She begged.

"I don't want to talk, Barbara. I'm fine." Lydia called back casually.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were possessed, Lydia." Barbara said as she phased through the door.

"What ever happened to privacy?" Lydia mumbled in annoyance. "Barbara, I'm fine, really."

Barbara ignored her and sat at the foot of the black bed. "Now, tell aunty Barbara what's troubling you, Lydia." She said in a mock tone.

Lydia rolled her eyes, laughing. "Barbara, you have to swear not to tell."

"Over what? I have nothing to lose, Lydia. I'm dead." Barbara said with a giggle.

"Over your dead body, of course." Lydia said and then sighed. "That didn't make sense but just promise not to tell anyone, please."

"You have my word, Lydia." Barbara said, crossing her once beating heart.

"I've been...thinking..." She started. "about what happened to Beetlejuice-." Barbara covered her mouth a second too late, the word was out.

"Lydia! Are you out of your mind? You know you can't say the B word! That's already one time!" Barbara wailed frantically.

Lydia felt a cool breeze hit the back of her neck, sending chills down her spine.

"I'm sorry! I just can't get it out of my head! What happened to _him_ when he was swallowed by the Sand Worm?" Lydia said in exasperation. She groaned and threw herself back into the bed and covered her eyes with her forearm.

"Lydia, not to be rude or anything but, why do you care? He nearly got what he wanted and ruined everyone's lives!" Barbara said. Lydia shot up in her bed.

"Only to get his back! Wouldn't you do the same?" Lydia shouted defensively.

"No. Would you?" Barbara asked, surprised.

Lydia was silent for a moment and then rolled her eyes. "No." She groaned in defeat and plopped back into the bed. "But I still can't get him out of my head. It's like he's always around just begging me to say his name!"

"Well...maybe he is...and that's not good at all. He's going to keep pestering you until you say his name three times. And by the looks of it, you're on the brink of giving into temptation. If you summon him back, all hell will break loose...quite literally." Barbara said nervously.

"I'm not going to give in, Barbara. I know I won't. I'm not stupid." Lydia said in annoyance.

Lydia felt that tingly chill run across her shoulders again and it made her hairs stand on the edge. She growled in annoyance.

"What is it Lydia?" Barbara asked worriedly.

Lydia held back a shudder and forced a smile. "Nothing, Barbara, just a little chilly." Another chill passed by her.

"Well, it is mid October..." Barbara said matter of factly. "Well, if I'm right, Beet-. _He,_ was dragged down to the afterlife reception waiting room. But after that, I can't imagine where he may have gone. I guess Juno has been keeping him under a watchful eye as of late." Barbara said with a sigh as memories from that nasty night flooded her train of thought.

"Not watchful enough..." Lydia mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing. I guess I can cast the thoughts aside, Barbara. Thanks for listening and _do not_ tell anyone, not a soul." Lydia said with suspicious eyes.

"Now why would I do that?...Souls can't keep secrets for a minute." Barbara mocked with a chuckle. She leaned over and placed a kiss on Lydia's head. "If you need _anything_, don't be afraid to come for me or Alan." She said from the door.

Lydia sighed. "Adams' gonna know, huh?"

Barbara smiled sheepishly and gave a small, innocent shrug.

Lydia rolled her eyes and smiled. "Thanks, Barb."

"No problem, Lyddie." She said with a smile. "Oh, Adam wanted me to ask you something important!" Barbara said as she reentered the room. "What are you planning for this Halloween, Lydia?" She asked excitedly.

"I...don't know. I still have a few weeks to figure that out an-" Lydia started but Barbara bought her hand up to silence her.

"Lydia, Halloween is this weekend. Honey you must be fighting your personal demons!" She said worriedly. "You always have Halloween on the top of your to-do list all year round. Are you sure you're OK?" Barbara placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I...I guess I've been out of it lately but it's just a matter of getting back on track. I'll be fine. We'll start tomorrow." Lydia said, her voice more cheery with every sentence.

Barbara raised an eyebrow and was about to comment when the front door slammed shut and there was a loud crashing sound followed by a "It's Adam! I'm alright!" from downstairs.

The girls giggled before Barbara kissed Lydia's forehead. "Goodnight, honey. And try not to think about _him._" She said cautiously.

Lydia nodded before sighing and laying back into her bed. Barbara tucked her in and left to aid her husband.

Lydia just sighed again and shut her eyes, trying to find sleep. But all that would come, were images of herself in the red wedding dress she had been in, a year ago.


	2. Window Pain

_**A/N: Warn me asap if you see anything needs improvement! **_

Lydia crammed her eyes shut and tried to shake the thoughts out of her head. She turned over and buried her face into her red pillow. She let out a loud groan until she felt her lungs cramp and protest for lack of oxygen.

When she turned over to face the roof, she nearly fell off her bed as she jumped up in surprise. Her bed was floating in the middle of her small room. Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. Beetlejuice was, in fact, haunting her.

"This isn't funny, Beet-. You! Put me down! GENTLY!" She hissed.

Slowly the bed floated back down to it's place, crashing down to the floor at the very last second. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she heard someone running up the stairs. The door flew open and Lydia threw herself onto the floor without thinking.

"Lydia! Are you OK? What was that?" Adam asked as he helped her up into the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I uh...I was going to close the curtains. I'm fine." Lydia said nervously.

"That was a loud crash, Lydia. And... the curtains are already shut tight." He said worriedly.

"Well, it's pretty quiet around this hour. I guess the sudden-ness of it made it sound louder. The floors aren't too tough anyway." Lydia blurted without thinking about it.

"I..I guess...but-"

"I tripped on my way back!" She said a little too urgently to be a normal statement.

Adam eyed her suspiciously but shrugged, knowing Lydia was normally weird. "If you're sure you're alright then I guess I'm headed back down to finish my project. Just be more careful, Lydia." He said before exciting the room, giving her one last glance.

Lydia laid back in her bed and groaned heavily. "I hate you." She hissed into the darkness. The chill trailed down her neck slowly, almost mocking her. "Wipe than grin off your smug face!" She hissed angrily.

Wait a minute, how did I know he was grinning? Is that what that chill means?, she thought to herself.

"What do you want? You know I'm not going to marry you and set you free, no matter how hard you try." Lydia said as she closed her eyes.

She heard a tapping on her window and turned to face it. She gasped at the marker that floated lazily in front of the window that was lit by the moonlight. She read to the curly handwriting cautiously.

_It's worth a try. I almost gotcha the first time, didn't I?_

"My friends were in trouble. I had no other choice."

The writing disappeared. And the marker started to scribble down quickly.

_Your **friends**, got me eaten by a freakin' Sand Worm!_

"Well deserved." She hissed. "I'm not going to marry you and much less 'let you out'." She snapped.

_You will with time, babe. You can't resist me!_

The chilly breeze hit her again.

"Go away and leave me alone." She mumbled and turned her back to the window, facing the wall instead.

Everything was silent after that and Lydia thought he had left. The marker floated over her head and the cap came off with a pop. It pointed itself on her wall almost threatening.

Lydia was out of bed and crossing the room in a second. She snatched the marker from the air and growled. She glared at the marker and in a second, it was no longer there. In her hand, was a small snake. Lydia squeaked and tossed the snake into her hamper.

"Beet-! Ugh! Stop it already!" Lydia hissed.

There was a strange cold spot as she took a step back.

_Not a chance, Lyds. Your gonna 'let me out' sooner or later, babes. _Came the whisper into her ear.

Lydia felt her face catch fire and she dove into her bed, head first.

"Leave me alone, Beetlejuice!" She wailed into her pillow. She gasped and shot up in her bed.

A horrible shrieking sound came from her window. She covered her ears and glared in that direction. The moonlight shone brightly where there was a stick and another being made. The chipped glass dust floated lazily around the two sticks.

_Strike two. Once more, Lyds. _He whispered into her ear, making her blood rise to her face in anger and embarrassment.

"Aren't you trapped somewhere? How are you haunting me up here?" Lydia asked in annoyance.

_I'm haunting from down here, babe. There ain't no rules against it and even if there were, I don't play by the rules, it makes everything boring._

"Does Juno know about you?" She asked as the anger in her voice subsided.

_Nope. And she ain't gonna know! Now just bare that last word, that last wonderful word! _He shouted.

"Not a chance. I don't need you here, why should I?" Lydia said. "You're a ghost and I don't need one. I have two, perfectly fine, not totally insane and sadistic, ghosts already. Thank you very much." Lydia snapped.

_Come on, Lyds! There has to be something I can do!_

"No! Now leave me alone! I need to sleep!" Lydia hissed before stuffing her face into her pillow.

_Fine! _He shouted angrily.

Lydia tried to relax but her body wouldn't let her. She was still on edge and that gloomy chill still loomed in her room.

"Leave!" She growled.

She heard him grumble and then with a silent hiss, he was gone. Lydia loosened her tense muscles and sighed. Although she'll never admit it, she missed his horrifying voice and his disturbing scent. His scent wasn't all bad. Musky, a little like dust and old whiskey. There was also a distinctive smell on him she couldn't place her finger on but it wasn't unpleasant, all the same.

She allowed a small smile to creep onto her features. She tried to concentrate on sleep but it just wouldn't some. He had left her anxious and tense and slightly confused. She tossed and turned for over an hour and her mind just wouldn't shut down. It kept buzzing with questions. She tossed and turned and tried to grab onto sleep but it just slipped through her hand like a ghost. Ghost. She needed to get this out of her system.

"B?" She called out into the darkness.

_Yeah?_

"I thought I told you to get out." She said, surprised he was there.

_I did. Now I'm back._

"Why are you still around, B? Why are you still haunting us? Can't you find some other goth girl to drag down to hell with you?"

_I'm hautin' you, doll. Not them. I need you to marry me, Lyds. Only reason I'm around._

"Can't you find someone else?" She asked annoyed.

_I've been around for a long time and no one is quite like ya, Lyds. If I have to marry someone, it'd be you. Every other girl is too terrified to marry someone like me. I think one actually threw up once. You get ghosts, Lyds. You're the gal for me._

Lydia was silent for a while and then she smiled. "Are you actually being sweet? That was very cute, B." She teased.

_Who knew the truth could be cute?_

"I think you did, B." She pressed on.

_Did not. Now will ya just say that last magical word and get it over with?_

"No way, BeeJay! I'm not letting you out.

_You don't miss me, Lyds? Hell, I'll admit I miss ya!_ He said dramatically.

Lydia scoffed. "Right. Bye, B." She said before turning around and falling asleep.

Tomorrows' a big day. Planning for the Halloween party.


	3. No luck this time, B

_**A/N: For those who haven't noticed, this fic is going to be fluffy...in a dark way. *evil grin* I'm sorry about the OOCness! It's unavoidable! We'll see what I can do. Please guys, REVIEW! If you subscribe, REVIEW! It's a little AU here and there!**_

"Rise and shine, Lydia!" Two particular, happy voices said in unison.

Lydia groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted by smiling faces...above her bed? Lydia sat up and laughed at the sight before her. Adam and Barbara floating around like circus freaks. Flipping, turning, spiraling everywhere.

"Hey guys. What's with the excitement. I mean, it's more than usual. There's spiraling. Who died?" She said jokingly.

Barbara gave her a scornful look and then chuckled. "Don't you remember anything from last night, Lydia?" She asked in a confused tone.

Memories flooded into her head about last nights conversation, only not with her but another ghost, not Adam either.

"I sure do, Barbara." She said as an inside joke.

"Well then, what are you waiting for, sleepy head? Get up! We have something to show you!" Adam chimed in as he twirled around Barbara, who chuckled.

"What is it?" Lydia asked as she climbed out of bed.

"It's a surprise! Me and Barbara have been working on it for a while, just for you!" Adam answered excitedly.

Lydia was headed to her closet when Barbara floated up to block her way. "Here, wear this. Now hurry!" She said as she grabbed Adam and flew out of her room, leaving her to her privacy.

Lydia giggled and grabbed the hem of her shirt to change but something in the back of her head was screaming not to. Then, all at once, last nights occurrences crept into her head, biting her brain. Her whole body tensed and then she realized that unwelcoming chill run over her hands.

"You sick pervert! Get out before I-"

_What, Lydia? Kill me?_

"I was going to say get an exorcist to get rid of you!" She snapped.

_It never seemed to be a problem when you didn't know I was lurkin' about._

"Ach! Total invasion of privacy, B! I can't believe you were spying on me and I never noticed!" She wailed.

_You've seen one, you've seen 'em all. No big deal._

Lydia couldn't help but feel embarrassed, angry and offended. "Get. Out. Now!" She yelled angrily as tears welled up in her eyes. "Get out, get out, get out!"

_I take it that is ain't gonna be so easy to get ya to say my name three times today..._

"Get. Out." She said between gritted teeth.

That tone almost scared Beetlejuice. Almost. With a soft hiss, he was gone. For the time being that is.

As soon as he left, Lydia let her tears fall down her cheeks.

"He talks about me like I'm nothing different than those whores he oh-so-loves! Ugh, I feel sick." She said as she sat down at the foot of her bed. "I hate you." A cool wind caressed her hair gently. Lydia sighed and moved from her seat.

"You better not be here, B." She threatened. Hard to believe, she felt empty with no response at all, yet relieved all the same.

Lydia quickly changed her clothes and brushed her teeth, combed her hair and then went downstairs.

"Lydia, do you want breakfast?" Delia called from the kitchen.

Lydia's stomach growled. "Yeah, sure. Where are Adam and Barbara? They said they'd show me something."

Delia smiled and placed a plate with bacon and eggs with a slightly burnt slice of french toast. Lydia poured syrup on her french toast and stabbed it with her fork.

"Their up in the attic, hun. Finish your breakfast and then you can head up." Delia said as she put the syrup in the refrigerator.

"Wheres' dad?" She asked with some bacon in her mouth.

"Oh, your father didn't feel very well and went to the doctors." Delia said casually. "He did look a little pale..."

"What was he feeling exactly?" Lydia asked suspiciously.

"Well, he said something about feeling anxious and a little sick to the stomach. It all started last night, he said." Delia said as he observed her daughter in law wolf down the rest of the food.

"Thanks, Delia! It was great, see you later, I'll be in the attic with the Maitlands!" Lydia called back. By the time she had finished her sentence, she had sprinted upstairs and was climbing the steps to the attic.

Lydia charged inside, earning a gasp from the ghosts.

"Scaring ghosts, how ironic." Lydia said, rolling her eyes.

"Not scare, startle." Adam defended.

"Right. Guys I need to tell you something important." Lydia rushed.

"Sure thing, after we show you what we've been working on!" Adam said excitedly.

Before Lydia could protest, Barbara thrust something into her chest. Lydia grabbed the fabric and straightened it out to take a better look at it. Her mouth dropped, nearly touching the dusty floor.

"It's beautiful." She said breathlessly.

In her hands, she held a dress. A corset dress. Short and puffy with tulle under the skirt. Lydia mentally frowned at the design. Black and white horizontal stripes. The tulle was completely white and protruded everywhere from underneath the skirt. Over where her left breast would be, was an elegant rose. Around her waist, over her hips, would be a simple black sash that reached down to the ground.

"Oh, you don't like it!" Barbara wailed as she plopped down into the couch, causing dust to explode everywhere.

Lydia glanced at Adam with a 'help me' look.

"Barbara, honey, she said it was beautiful. How can she not like it?" Adam cooed at her like if she were a disappointed child.

"I have a feeling she doesn't like it. Something in her expression just...blah!" She whined.

Lydia walked over and hugged the both of them tightly. "I love it, guys. I really love it, so much. It's beautiful and I can't wait to wear it on Hallowe-" She stopped herself. "Guys..." She started again, causing their delighted expressions to fade.

"What's wrong, Lydia?" Adam asked worriedly.

"It's..._him._ He's haunting me. He wants me to get him out again. He won't leave me alone and I think it was him that fiddled with my dad." Lydia said sadly.

Adam's jaw clenched and he glared at the floorboards. "I had a feeling he was back. I felt it to the very bone..." He mumbled.

"Oh dear, I feared that our little hunch was right. What can we do? Technically he isn't up here. He's just haunting." Barbara said nervously.

"Wait, in order to haunt someone, you have to have some kind of contact with the person. Being where ever he is...how is he haunting Lydia?" Adam said thoughtfully. "You haven't summoned him have you?" He asked alarmed.

Lydia took an offended stance. "No! I wouldn't call him back, Adam." She said defensively.

"It's true. She wouldn't do something like that. Not even if she were crazy." Barbara chimed in.

Adam looked thoughtful. "I hadn't expected this at all. I didn't think _he_ would come back and far less would I have imagined him playing the same game. If it didn't work the first time, it surely won't work a second. We know how he plays on the board."

Lydia's face was pale and her breathing was uneven, Barbara noticed.

"Lydia, what's wrong?" She asked alarmed.

"I may have...accidentally..." She tried.

"How many times have you said his name, Lydia?" Adam asked accusingly, even if it wasn't his intention.

"I said it twice yesterday..." Lydia responded.

The couple let out a breath in relief. Lydia looked at them bewildered.

"Why are you relieved?" Lydia wailed in exasperation.

"Once the day ends, you have to say his name three times from the top. If you said it twice yesterday and say it once today, it wouldn't count as three, it would count as one." Adam explained.

Lydia looked hopeful. "So, if I accidentally say it, I wouldn't be summoning him, right?"

"Right, but that isn't going to happen because you're going to be extremely cautious with your words, right?" Barbara said as a warning.

"Right." Lydia said with a determined smile. "Now, when I get my hands on that insect, I'm going to strangle him for messing with my father...again." Lydia said with a feral smile on her pale features.

"Strangling him won't do any good, Lyddie. He's already dead." Adam said slightly disturbed by her expression.

"I know but I'll feel better. That is, if he ever actually shows." Lydia mumbled.

"Right! Back to what frightens me. B-." He caught himself. "_B_, has to have some way of communicating with you or at the very least see you, in order to haunt you, considering he isn't here in the Netherworld." He said thoughtful again.

"I'll let you guys know tomorrow. I'm having a chat with the poltergeist." Lydia said as she walked out.

Barbara and Adam ran after her and each grabbed one of her arms.

"Are you crazy, Lydia? The guys a total psycho!" Adam said frantically.

"He isn't hostile and I think I can take him. If anything goes wrong, I'll let you know." Lydia said as she headed out.

Barbara snatched her arm again. "What if you don't have the chance to let us know before something terrible happens, Lydia?" She asked frantically.

"Listen, I have a feeling that nothing is going to happen. Don't worry." Lydia said as she ran downstairs before she could be grabbed again.

"Lydia." Barbara called from the attic door.

Lydia turned back to face her and her heart moved just a little by the look of pure worry on her face.

"You don't trust him, do you?" Her voice was nearly a whisper but Lydia heard her loud and clear.

Lydia didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, that she trusted him. She just smiled and walked off to her dark room.

_**A/N: I just finished fixing the Alan/Adam mix up! Please forgive me!**_

_**Thank you so much to braygirl that oh-so-politely noted me of my little screw up! *heart***_

_**Reviews of course =)**_


	4. The Routine

_**A/N: Here's the new chapter of my story! I don't feel so well right now so it may or may not be a good chapter (I write the A/Ns' before I write the story). For added effect, it's 3:00 a.m. Please bear with me. New character! My OC, Morgan! *virtual cookies***_

Lydia parted her lips to utter the infamous letter but instead, she found herself flinching as the door flew open.

"Lyddie!" Morgan called as she threw herself onto Lydia for a hug.

"Morgan? What are you doing here?" Lydia asked as she pushed her friend to arms length.

"Can't a girl visit 'er best friend?" She said in a slurred tone.

"Morgan! Are you drunk? How much did you have to drink?" Lydia asked as she bought her friend down to sit on her bed.

Morgan bought a finger up to Lydia's lips and just smeared her lip gloss over her mouth. Lydia swatted her hand away and cleaned her mouth with her black sleeve.

"Don't say it so loud, Lyddie!" She said drunkenly.

"Morgan, you know you aren't supposed to be drinking!" Lydia hissed.

"And...why...not?" Morgan asked between hiccups.

Lydia started to count off her fingers. "One, it's illegal, you're a minor. Two, your parents will hang you if they find out. Three, your a psychopath when your drunk. Four, you're naturally accident prone, with alcohol in your body, your testing death. Five, you a-"

Morgan used her finger to quiet Lydia again. Lydia swatted her hand away angrily and Morgan let out a bubbly laugh. "You're no fun, Lydia!" She uttered.

"And you're insane. How'd you get here all in one piece?" Lydia asked. Morgan started to flail her arms around while making weird noises. Lydia grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. "Morgan!" She snapped.

"Hector bought me here! Though I dunno how he managed to fit all of him into the car. There were like eight of him!" She wailed. Lydia barely understood her.

"Hector? The 30 year old? What were you doing with him? Morgan, you're insane! He could have taken advantage of you!" Lydia wailed as she got up and shut her door. Morgan staggered to her feet and fell onto Lydia, causing them to tumble back into the wall.

"But he din't! We had a blast, Lyddie! You shouldda been there!" Morgan smirked. "Joshua was there!" She said, trying to sound seductive.

Lydia pushed her back in disgust, causing her to stagger back and fall into the bed. She laughed like a child and lifted her legs up and flailed them around.

"I'm not interested in that, that idiot! Morgan, their way too old! Their already in their 30's! I'm sure they don't want to 'go on a date'." Lydia scolded, pacing back and forth.

"Then whaddaya suppose they want?" Morgan asked, sitting up.

Lydia glared at her crazy friend. "They want to get in your pants, Morgan!"

Morgan gasped in shock. "Your right, Lydia! How could I have not seen that coming?" She asked bewildered.

"Because you're a whore!" Lydia snapped.

Morgan stood to her feet and staggered to square herself with Lydia. She glared into Lydia's eyes.

"I'm notta whore! I'm not antisocial like you, Lydia!" She said, tears in her eyes.

"We've been through this, Morgan." Lydia said as she pushed her friend back into the bed. "Get in. Shut up. And sleep." She ordered as she tucked her friend in. "I'll call your parents and tell them th-" Lydia was cut off by Morgan's loud snoring. She rolled her eyes and silently left her room.

She walked downstairs and was heading towards the phone when she saw her father walking through the door. She walked to him and gave him a tight, casual hug.

"Hey dad, how are you feeling?" She asked casually.

"Just fine, Lyddie. All it took was a nice drive around town and I felt better. I went to the doctors and by then, I was perfectly fine." Charles said happily.

"That's great." Lydia said in relief. He yawned.

"I think I'm turning in early. Mind telling Delia for me?" He asked on his way upstairs.

"Sure thing, dad." Lydia said as she walked into Delia's work room.

She looked around and saw a few new sculptures scattered around the room but she couldn't see her stepmother anywhere. She walked into the kitchen and saw her at the counter island, eating some grapes.

"Hey, can Morgan stay over? She's having family issues again." Lydia said as she normally did when Morgan had to stay over because she was drunk. Of course, her mother didn't know that.

"Sure honey. Do you know where her bag is?" She asked before popping another grape into her mouth.

"In the closet in the hallway, top shelf." Lydia said as she walked out.

It's the fourth time Morgan stays over, drunk. Lydia prepared a bag, specially for her, after the third time. It was becoming a routine. Morgan gets involved with a man, she does something stupid, get's wasted, and is dropped off here. How she manages to look sober to her parents and ghostly godparents, she didn't know and it never seized to amaze her.

Lydia grabbed the bag and headed back to her room but caught herself at the head of the stairway. She peered down and faced the kitchen.

"Dad turned in for the night!" She called to Delia. She waited for a response. She heard a muffled 'mhm' and walked into her room, tossing the bag by the bed.

She sighed and walked into the bathroom, grabbed the wastebasket and headed back, placing the wastebasket on the nightstand. She turned to the sound of soft knocking on her door and saw Adam and Barbara standing nervously in the doorway.

"Did you...?" Adam trailed off.

Lydia pointed to the sleeping girl in her bed and rolled her eyes. "Didn't get the chance."

"Well, if anything hap-" Barbara started.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll let you know." Lydia finished lazily. "Guys, I'm tired too. I think I'll turn in for the night. All the excitement tired me out. I'm sorry we couldn't discuss Halloween today." Lydia said with a soft yawn.

Barbara kissed her head gently. "That's alright, Lydia. Sleep well." She smiled.

Adam gave her arm a squeeze and followed his wife out the door, shutting it softly.

Lydia sighed and changed into her sleeping clothes absentmindedly. She pushed her friend over and crawled into her bed. She stared at the roof, fighting her heavy eyelids until she couldn't anymore. Her eyelids drifted to each other and Lydia succumbed into sleep easily.


	5. Nightmares and Regret

_**A/N: Written right after chapter four! =) 4:00 a.m. I can still manage. I'm sorry the chapters are short! If I make them long, they drag on forever and it will have very few chapters. I don't think you'll understand but it's a good method for me (first time I try it). For those who took their time to read this, *virtual cookies***_

Lydia stirred in her sleep. Tossing and turning and groaning all because of her dream.

_Dream..._

_Lydia was in the attic of her house, back when they had first moved in. She wandered around the attic, running her fingers over the wooden walls, leaving a visible trail over the dust. She smiled softly at the dust covered loveseat and placed a hand on it tenderly, almost sympathetically._

_She walked farther in to see the miniature model that Adam made but instead of the smile she had felt, she gasped. The model was destroyed. Trashed over the ground in a million little pieces everywhere. Lydia pushed past her emotions and knelt by the debris only to gasp again. She shot up to her feet at the sight of the red lace before her. She was wearing the wedding dress Beetlejuice had given her that faithful day._

_The thought hit her like a fist. Lydia fell to her knees and started to shovel the debris frantically, searching for him. Searching for Beetlejuice for some unknown reason._

_She searched and searched but there was no sign of him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she found his tombstone. She didn't know what was going on but she knew for sure, she needed to see him. She climbed to her feet and took a deep, shaky breath._

"_Beetlejuice." She called determinedly. "Beetlejuice." slightly more nervous. She hesitated but something from within her forced the word out desperately. "Beetlejuice!"_

_Lydia waited for the fog to roll out and for him to appear with that feral grin on his face but, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Lydia became more desperate._

"_Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!" She tried again, tears forming._

_Nothing happened. Lydia fell to her knees and a sob racked her body violently._

"_Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice..." She called out in a mere whisper, between sobs and sniffles. "Beetlejuice, where are you?" She sobbed._

"_He isn't here." A voice echoed. It was her own voice only this one was empty and cold._

"_W-Where is he? Why isn't he coming? I called his name!" Lydia cried. "Beetlejuice!" She shouted again._

"_He isn't coming. Juno let him out with two conditions after you blew him off." The voice practically snapped._

_Guilt and regret pinched Lydia's heart. "What conditions?" Lydia asked desperately._

"_One, only you could summon him back. Two, only true love would set him permanently free." The voice whispered._

"_I called him! He didn't come back! Why didn't he come back?" Lydia wailed between sobs._

"_Why should he? You left him on your wedding, Lydia. I'm sure he doesn't even care anymore, whether or not you let him out. I'm sure he doesn't want to be with you, let alone think about you." The voice hissed._

"_That's not true!" Lydia said as she scrambled to her feet. "Yesterday he was asking me to let him out! He was still there! He hasn't forgotten me and I haven't forgotten him!" Lydia defended angrily._

_There was that cold chill again. The voice must have been grinning. Lydia realized the game she was in._

"_Why? Why do you care now? You didn't want to marry him then!"_

"_Then, I didn't know what was going on! I was trying to save my friends and my dad! I wasn't too fond of Beetlejuice then!" Lydia screeched at the darkness the voice was hiding in._

"_You are now?" It asked skeptically._

_Lydia didn't answer her. "Where is Beetlejuice now? What happened to the model?"_

_There was another chill and suddenly her hands began to sting violently. She looked down at her hands and they were bloody and bruising._

"_No. No, no, no!" Lydia cried. "No!"_

"_Yes, yes, yes." The voice hissed._

"_No!" She screamed and clutched her head tightly, trying to keep it straight. "I couldn't have! I didn't! Beetlejuice!" She screamed._

"_You did!" The voice said, laughing darkly._

_Lydia screamed and shut her eyes tightly. "Beetlejuice! No!" She sobbed. "Wake up, Lydia. Wake up!"_

"_He's gone, Lydia. It's all your fault, right from the beginning!" The voice hissed._

_Lydia screamed her heart out. Then, everything went dark._

Lydia shot up in her bed. She was panting and sweating bullets, her hands clutching the black sheets for dear life. Lydia absentmindedly ran out of bed and sprinted into the attic, ignoring Adam and Barbara completely.

She was relieved when she was the model in one piece. She then searched her shaking hands and they were flawless as ever.

"Lydia! What's wrong? What happened?" Barbara asked as he dragged a trembling Lydia to the couch.

Lydia flinched in her seat, remembering it from her nightmare.

"I need a shower." Lydia said as she rushed out, leaving the couple behind.

She grabbed her things and locked herself in the bathroom. She looked herself in the mirror. She was white as snow and her face glistened with sweat and her lips quivered. Lydia stripped her clothes off and step into the shower. She turned the knob for cold water and gasped at the temperature. Her muscled tensed and relaxed as the water gently pelted her skin. Lydia stared at the water going down the drain and just blanked out, letting the freezing water drown her thoughts and wash away the hot tears that streamed down her face.


	6. Questions

_**A/N: Braygirl, thanks for sticking around so far, it means a lot to me! Well, on with the story. Remember, if you read, REVIEW! It lets me know how I'm doing! Please! I only have two reviewers! *virtual cookies***_

Lydia heard knocking on the door but she was too overwhelmed to give it any thought.

"Lydia!" Morgan called for the hundredth time. At first, Morgan had needed the bathroom to wash off the vomit and clear her head from the massive hangover. Now, she was worried sick about her friend. "Lydia, you've been in there for an hour! Are you OK? At least let me know you're alive in there!"

Lydia glanced at the door with her eyes. She felt numb and her very bones ached because of the freezing water. She lifted her arm lazily and shut the water off, giving Morgan the sign she needed.

"Lydia, your parents went out to a meeting. Your room started to get cold and spooky, Lyddie. I'm freaked out here." Morgan said.

Lydia's heart started pumping and in one, regretful movement, she was out of the shower and wrapped in her towel. She opened the door and Morgan rushed in, her things already in hand. Immediately, the stench of vomit and alcohol hit Lydia violently. Morgan turned to face her.

"Are you OK, Lydia? You look terrible." Morgan said with concern laced in her suspicious tone.

"Not as terrible as you." Lydia tried to joke but it came out as a weak whisper. "I'm fine, Morgan. Wash off well, you reek." Lydia said as she walked towards her room.

Lydia froze at the door and hightailed it to her parents room. She put on her black lace dress and her favorite hat, the one with the veil and then walked into her room. She grabbed her boots and threw them on. She put on her black liner and lipstick and looked herself in the mirror for a few minutes.

Suddenly, her rooms temperature increased notably and her mirror fogged up. Lydia took a few steps back cautiously. She looked into the mirror and she found herself frozen as she saw something appearing on the mirror. She walked closer and was able to recognize what it was. Writing. Letter after letter, Lydia felt her heart skip a beat.

_Hey Lyds! Howwa bout ya let me out and we can go...I dunno, out to grab some grub somewhere?_

"You're crazy." Lydia said bewildered.

_I'm as crazy as I am dead, Lyds. _The chill rolled over.

"Mirrors! That's how you get a hold of me!" Lydia said as soon as realization dawned on her.

_Pretty, tough **and** smart!_

"Ho-" Morgan entered the room, interrupting her.

"Whoa, Lyddie. It's a little chilly here, isn't it?" Morgan said.

Lydia started to wipe her mirror frantically. "Sure is, my mirror fogged up!" She said with a nervous laugh.

Morgan packed up her things and stuffed it into the bag. She picked it up and lazily swung it over her shoulder.

"I washed the wastebasket for you, Lyddie. You're a life saver, I owe you...quite a few actually." Morgan said as she came over to Lydia.

Lydia skipped straight to the hug and was pushing her out of her room. "Yeah, sure do. It's not a problem, Morgan. What are friends for? Alright, walk safely, shut your legs and stay in school!" Lydia rushed as she dragged her friend downstairs.

Morgan stopped her and grabbed her shoulders. She gave her a concerned look. "Lydia, are you gonna be OK? You seem a little...off."

"I'll be fine, Morgan. I should be worried about you. Can I trust you'll go straight home?" Lydia rushed.

"Yeah, I need to sleep. This hangover is killing me. Thanks again, Lydia." Morgan said as she fought Lydia's frantic pushing and shoving.

"Sure thing, Morgan. No more drinking, alright?" She shut the door on her friends face and rushed to the window.

Morgan had a shocked expression on her face and then she shook her head, shrugged and started to trudge down the hill. Lydia watched her go until she disappeared behind the hill. She sprinted upstairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. She made sure her black curtains were all shut tight and then slowly walked towards her dresser, staring into the mirror cautiously.

"B..." She called out hesitantly. "Are you there?"

_Am now. Man, glad she's gone! She's been hurlin' all mornin'!_

"B, I need to talk to you so I need you to shut up and just listen. Answer my questions and explain what the hell is going on." Lydia said sternly.

_Whatever, Lyds. I have nothin' better to do._

"Why didn't you tell me about the conditions Juno let you out with." Lydia demanded.

_S' not somethin' ya needed to know._

Lydia sighed. She couldn't tell what kind of emotion he put into the statement so she didn't know if he was being casual or just plain rude.

"It concerns me in every way, B. It's definitely something I needed to know!"

_How do you know now anyway?_

Lydia suddenly felt sick. "I'm not sure..." She answered honestly.

_So now that ya know, hows about you let me out, babe?_

"No. Listen." She snapped. "What is going on? I mean, how are you doing that? The mirror thing."

_I'm a man with many charms, Lyds. All the more reason to get married! It's an offer you cannot refuse!_

"B, tell me!" She hissed.

_It's just one of those things, Lyds. It's the only way I can get to ya. I can't go out there, period. I can't keep a solid form out there. The mirror is a portal for me. It works both ways._

The mirror was full of his curly handwriting. Lydia walked over and wiped it off. In a second, more fog rolled over and he continued to scribble down quickly.

_I can see you, you can't see me but I can get to ya. Loopholes, gotta love 'em._

"Only true love can set you free. Juno set that one up pretty well. You can't love anyone more than anything else. You have to love someone over anything else in your life."

He didn't respond and she sighed. "It was a dream. A nightmare actually." She didn't know whether or not he was listening but she continued anyway. "I was at the attic back when we had first moved in. The model you had been trapped in was destroyed..." She skipped the part of her looking for him the way she did. "I tried to find you but you weren't there. That's when I realized I was in that red wedding dress..." She felt that familiar chill run down her spine. "Then, I tried calling you. I called and called but you wouldn't come. Then, a voice told me that I had destroyed the model. That I was to blame for what happened to you..." Her voice finished in a whisper.

_That sounds...bad. Why were ya lookin' for me? I thought you didn't want anything to do with me._

"Of course I didn't, then. But..."

_But?_

"Now I'm not so sure..." She sat in her bed and slumped over. She stared at her hands in her lap.

_Aw, you're making me tear up, Lyds. _He knocked on his mirror to get her attention.

When Lydia looked over at the mirror, he felt his heart drop a centimeter. She was crying. Tears streamed down her beautiful pale face and her expression was that of fear and guilt. He wanted to shatter his mirror so he wouldn't have to see her in pain but he knew he'd loose her for good. She actually cared for him...in some way.

He sighed and bought his hand up to trace down his sentence with his finger.

_Lyds..._ He wrote sympathetically. Too bad she wouldn't notice the emotion in the words, he thought.

"I don't know why I had that nightmare...it was so...real." He heard Lydia whisper. He was on the brink of smashing the bottle of rum on the glass. "I was terrified that you didn't come back when I called..." She said more to herself than to him.

_Is that why you left like you did this mornin'?_

Lydia felt her cheeks heat up. "I had to make sure nothing had really happened..."

_No offense but, why do ya care all of a sudden?_

Lydia didn't respond. She got up from her bed and just left, to think. She wandered into the attic.

Why did she care all of a sudden? It's been a year. A year that had seemed to drag itself along, painfully slow. Everything had returned to normal...or at least what she considered as 'normal' in her family. All except her new ghostly godparents of course. No matter how hard she had tried, she was never able to forget about him. She had kept the wedding dress, putting it safely in the back of her closet. She had painted the sculpture that Delia had made of him and put it on her desk. Throughout the year, Lydia had forced herself to believe that she kept everything close to remember that crazy part of her life. Now, she was beginning to realize that she didn't want to forget him. She knew she didn't know him but then again, she had been seconds away from marrying him even if it was to save Adam and Barbara. Weeks after that day, she had begun to think what it would have been like to be married to a dead man... a poltergeist... a bio-exorcist... Beetlejuice. She was starting to think...maybe it wasn't the best idea to have let him go.

Lydia found herself sitting on the couch in the attic. She looked down at her hands and her heart clenched. She stared at the ring on her finger. The ring that he had given her that night. Why had she kept it? Why did she wear it? Why?

Beetlejuice was sprawled over his old bed, staring at the roof, just thinking. Thinking about how he felt and all that. When Juno had left him out with those two conditions, he had expected to be furious but...he wasn't furious at all. He has been relieved. Relieved that he still had a connection to her. A year ago, he just wanted out and marrying Lydia was his only ticket to freedom. Back then, Lydia was just a pretty face and a great body to him and his key to the land of the living. Now, he wasn't sure that was the case anymore. Over the year, Lydia had changed notably. She filled into her curves more and she was taller and thinner. He had fought a great battle against his will to watch her as she changed. He may be...well, the way he is, but he respected the brat for some reason. He wondered why he had chosen not to change from his black and white tux and why he tossed the tux from the wedding into the room. He wondered, why was he acting so...differently. Then, he had wanted to be out of his prison. Now, he's thinking the game board flipped sides.

He got up from his bed and groaned. He couldn't possibly _like_ her, could he? Of course I can, he thought.

"Way to go, guy. Ya screwed up big time. You're losin' your game, bub." He said to himself. "Now what are ya gonna do? Wait twenty years 'til she falls in love with you? That just won't do it for me..." He said into the mirror determinedly. "But...she kinda looked like she felt somethin' for me. Dunno what, but something is something, right? That's a good start. You're still in the game, guy." He said to his reflection.

Lydia had walked out of the attic to grab a glass of water. She downed it, despite the ache in her throat. She looked out the window and saw the sun was setting. She needed to get her act together before her parents and the Maitlands returned. Come to think of it, where had Adam and Barbara gone? Of course Morgan hadn't seen them but her parents could have told her. Then again, they hadn't told her about themselves leaving to begin with. She took to making herself a sandwich and eating it slowly, forcing every thought into a corner of her brain. By the time she was washing the dishes, her parents arrived. They had a small, casual chat and then Delia went to either sculpt or watch her lame soup operas. Her father had left to his room for the night, to read his book; The Encyclopedia of Exotic Birds.

Lydia readied for bed as she always did but instead of going to her room, she went to the attic. Adam and Barbara were chatting on the couch and when they saw Lydia they pulled her into the couch, sitting her between them.

"Lydia, tell us what happened this morning. And don't try to sneak out. We're not letting you go until we know what happened." Barbara demanded with concern.

Lydia sighed and told the Maitlands everything from the minute she closed her eyes last night, to the second she left her room a few hours ago. They remained silent, looking into each others faces thoughtfully and Lydia shifted awkwardly.

"Lydia," Barbara finally spoke up. "I don't know what to say, I mean...personally I think this is great. Only you can let him out and we all know you wouldn't do that so there shouldn't be any danger with him." She explained.

"But I think I might...give in." Lydia said worriedly. "You know what happened! The dream meant something and in my dream I wanted Beetlejuice back!" She gasped and covered her mouth. She hadn't caught herself or even tried to until it was far too late.

Adam buried his head into his hands. "Barbara, I think we might have a problem. I think Lydia feels something for Beetlejuice." He said in defeat.

Barbara gasped. "Adam! That's his name twice!" She scolded.

"Relax honey, only Lydia can let him out now." Adam reminded her.

"But it still sounds horribly wrong, Adam. Don't say it like that." She demanded.

Adam sighed and nodded his head. "You're right, I'm sorry Barbara."

"What are we going to do?" Lydia asked frantically. "I told you that he can see me through my mirror and can get to me certain times with his abilities. I can't ignore him when he's always there. And even if he isn't...I can't shake the thought of him." She confessed meekly.

"She's right, Adam. We have to do something about this. I don't think Lydia can do this on her own." Barbara said with pure concern in her tone.

"I'm trying to figure something out. Lydia, you said that you can sense when he's there, right?" Adam asked.

"More or less..." Lydia answered cautiously. She didn't know where he was going with this.

"And he leaves when you tell him to?" Barbara joined as she caught on.

"Yeah..." More cautious this time.

"Well, make sure he doesn't stay around tonight. Something tells me that he's up to something and I can't place my finger on it. Obviously you shouldn't be with him considering that you're having conflicting emotions." Adam said as he got up from the couch to pace back and fourth. "Do you think you can manage that?"

"No." Lydia answered in total honesty. "But I can try." She added with a yawn.

"Alright then. I think you should have a good nights rest, Lydia. You've had a rough day." Barbara said as she walked her to her room.

"Yeah. I'll be careful, Barbara." Lydia said sleepily.

"I know you will." She kissed her cheek and shut the door behind her.

Lydia crawled into her bed and wrapped herself in the sheets.

"Are you out there?" She asked. When there was no response, she felt utterly empty and decided it was a good thing.

She had trouble falling asleep for the next couple of hours. Always checking to see if he was out there. When there wasn't a response, she would worry and then feel relieved and then worried again because she had cared in the first place. When she drifted off to sleep, she was up again because the nightmare kept replaying over and over again. She tried to block everything out but her efforts were futile. She settled to just stare at the roof. Her eyes lost focus and she could have sworn she saw his face there, staring at her.

When she finally decided she wasn't going to be able to sleep, she walked to her desk and sat in the chair. She laid her head down on her arms and stared at the sculpture of him. She knew she shouldn't be looking at him or even thinking about him but she couldn't help it. Something about it just made her feel slightly more sane in her insanity. She smiled at the sculpture, remembering how he had improvised the wedding. With that thought, she drifted into sleep, a smile on her face.


	7. Headache

_**A/N: Here's the new chapter! Today has been an awfully crazy day so, let's see what my imagination can toss into the soup...and by soup I mean story...I guess you knew that already *sweat drop* Anyway, I don't know what'll happen at all yet so bare with me please. I'm sort of out of juice here...I'll pick it up as I go...Thanks to those that have stuck with me so far! You guys are very motivational! Braygirl, I'll be waiting for your famous review =) Thanks guys! *virtual cookies***_

_**Basically everything in italics are either dreams or Beetlejuice communicating with Lydia. If anything else, I'll make sure to tell you.**_

_Lydia was in a dark room. It smelled horrible and every inch she moved, something scurried away or stuck to her feet. Lydia felt around for anything like a light switch but she kept tripping or walking straight into something._

"_Where in the world am I?" She asked herself._

"_In the underworld, babe." A voice said smugly and the lights switched on, barely lighting the room. The light gave off a mysterious color, making the room look intimidating and creepy._

_Lydia's eyes darted around the room looking for him frantically. Her eyes landed on a tattered bed. There he was, lazily looking at her, with a grin on his face. Goosebumps washed over her body and that's when she noticed how cold it was in the room._

"_How? Where am I? What did you do?" She asked accusingly._

_He faked being offended. "Now why do you automatically blame me, babe? I had nothin' to do with it. You were the one who decided to marry me. Are you OK?"_

_Lydia went mentally insane. "Marry you? W-When...How...Married?" She babbled. "I married you? Willingly?" She asked bewildered._

"_I was as shocked as you are. Yeah, you married me willingly. It's been years, babe. Why are ya askin' now? You OK? You do seem a little...paler than usual." He said worriedly. That was a first for Lydia._

_She walked to the bed absentmindedly and sat at the edge of the bed. She looked at him cautiously and curiously._

"_Can you...remind me how it happened?" She asked as casually as possible._

"_Sure. We fell in love, much to our amazement. You sacrificed your life to come down here with me and I'm free for good. Happily married for three hundred years now." Beetlejuice said proudly._

_Lydia fell back into the bed and closed her eyes shut. Her heart was racing. What the hell was going on? Before she could do anything, he cradled her hips with his knees and pressed his cold lips against hers. Her eyes shot open and she wanted to push him away and just get away but her body wouldn't agree with that. Instead, she deepened the kiss by licking his lower lip. He opened his mouth to grant her entrance and her tongue slipped in as if it were her second nature. She moaned as he sucked on her tongue and ran a cool finger down the crook of her neck._

_He shifted his legs so that one was between her legs and the other was beside her right hip. His hands trailed down to her waist. He slipped his hands into her shirt and his hands ghosted over her waist, caressing her soft skin gently. Lydia moaned as he trailed wet kisses down her neck and over her chest. She could feel her heart pounding against it's confines and the cold spots where he left trails of saliva from his kisses. She arched her back and pressed her breasts against his hard, cold chest._

_Lydia's brain was screaming at her, telling her all kinds of things of how this was a **bad** idea but she could care less. Much, much less. She moved her hands into his shirt and felt him shiver against the warmth of her hands. It must have felt strange to him still._

_He moved her black hair over her shoulder and continued to leave trails of kisses over the exposed skin. Lydia shifted and cradled his hips with her legs and pulled him flush against herself. He grunted into her ear and she flipped them over. She placed either one of her knees besides his hips and put her hands next to his head. She dived down and attacked his lips with her own passionately. She sat onto him, making their lower regions make contact. Beetlejuice moaned into the kiss and his hands reached over to her bottom. He squeezed her and she smirked into the kiss._

_He moved his hands so one was resting on her hip and another on the hem of her black pants. He tugged at them and her heart began to race incredibly. He stared into her eyes and she noticed how they weren't green anymore. Instead they were dark, black almost._

"_Say my name..." He whispered huskily into her ear._

Lydia jumped in her bed, landing into a sitting position. Her breath was shaking and her body was glistening with sweat as the moonlight spilled into her dark room. She was panting, trying to regain control over herself again. She could clearly feel the heat radiating from in between her legs and she clutched the sheets into her hands. Her face flushed in embarrassment.

It took her a few minutes to regain composure. She looked around her room, her eyes fully adjusted to the darkness. She stayed completely still and her body tensed when she realized where she was.

"How did I get into bed? I was at my desk when I fell asleep." She whispered to herself. She was afraid to think it was Beetlejuice so she began to reason. "He can't be up here. He's trapped somewhere. It easily could have been the Maitlands or dad. It's stupid to think it was him."

Then, she wondered where he even was. Was he there? Or was he gone? Why the hell was she dreaming about all of that? With him. Was he messing with her? No. He can't manage that kind of thing. He can barely move a pencil without concentrating a great deal. But then again, he had lifted her bed the night he decided to make an entrance. Maybe it crashed into the floor because he couldn't hang on any longer. That made more sense. Then again, it was him...he probably did it on purpose.

She threw herself back on her bed and sighed. She closed her eyes and just stayed like that for a while, not really thinking about anything. She was forced to open her eyes at a clicking sound. She panicked before realizing it was her clock ticking. She read the time lazily and sighed again. It was 2:00 a.m. and sleep was no where to be found at the time. She got up and trudged to the desk, sprawling herself on the chair. She switched on the reading light and made a face as the light blinded her. Once she got used to the light, she stared at the sculpture.

Minutes passed in silence as she let her thoughts flow around in her head about Halloween. She quickly searched for a notepad and a red pen and started to scribble her ideas down:

_1~Ball for the dead: It pretty much explains itself..._

_2~Haunted Mansion: Theme._

_3~Masquerade..._

Lydia slammed the pen into the desk in frustration. She grabbed her head in her hands and sighed. She had the ideas but they all seemed...stereotypical.

"Maybe I shouldn't have a party this year. I'll just go to Morgan's this year..." Lydia mumbled. She groaned and pressed her forehead against the desk, trying once again to capture sleep. Up to this point, she was considering calling him.

She didn't move an inch other than to switch off the light. "B..." She called out lazily. No response. "B..." She called with more enthusiasm. Still no response. She lifted her head in curiosity. "B, where the hell are you?" She remained still, trying to capture that eerie chill of his. It wasn't there.

She began to become nervous. "B. Stop fucking around with me." She demanded. No response and that ticked her off. More than she expected. "Beetleju-!" She caught herself and frowned. "Oh, I see what your doing. Well, your little game isn't going to work, B. Stay away then, it doesn't matter to me." She snapped.

She caught herself waiting for that familiar chill. She practically sighed when it didn't brush over. "B, where are you? What have you gotten yourself into?" She mumbled to herself as she grabbed her head again. "What have I gotten _myself_ into?" She whispered.

Lydia just stared at the desk miserably for what seemed like forever. She shifted so her head rested over her folded arms and just stayed there some more. Years seemed to pass as her mind uncovered memories she had filed away.

The memories of the day she moved into the new house, the day she met the Maitlands, the moment the Maitlands possessed the dinner guests with the song and dance, the moment Beetlejuice scared her as a snake, the moment she almost committed suicide, the moment she almost let Beetlejuice free for the first time, the moment her parents held a meeting over the Maitlands and the model.

More memories passed and the most vivid of all seemed to be the memory she tried to suppress the most. The terrifying moment Otho summoned the Maitlands and they began to slip into the afterlife, the crucial moment she went to Beetlejuice for help and summoned him, the excitingly horrible moment he got rid of Otho and those sheep Delia called friends, when he proposed to her, when he threw a wedding together, when the vows were being said to the moment he was swallowed by the Sand Worm.

She could actually remember the words Otho spoke as he summoned the Maitlands.

"Hans vermilion, start a fire, bright cortilia, ravens die, nightshades promise, spirits drive. To the living, let now the dead, come alive. As sudden thunder pierces night, as magic wonder mad of fright, rise of sunder, man's delight, our ghost, our corpse and we rise to be. As fly is to lizard, a serpent fell, at goblin visit at this spell, the buried, dead and sleighed, rise again..." Lydia chanted sadly. She knew she had messed up a few words so the spell wouldn't take effect. Besides, she had chanted the spell times before and nothing had ever happened.

Lydia sighed and trudged to her bed. She looked at the clock and read 5:00 a.m. She wasn't feeling very well. She returned to the pad and pen and scribbled down:

_I'm not feeling well. I have a headache and I'm sleeping in for the day. It's 5:00 a.m. and I just took some aspirin. I'll see you guys later..._

_~Lydia._

She ripped the page out and trudged down to the kitchen. She placed the note on the counter and just returned to her room, aspirin forgotten. She closed her curtains and then dove into her bed. She wrapped herself in the sheets and just went blank. Sleep was quick to consume her this time and she was grateful for, in fact, she truly felt a headache beginning to creep into her head.


	8. Alley Runway

_**A/N: Finally, I think I have a firm idea for this chapter...but that doesn't mean I know what'll happen...**_

_**I'm not that much of a devoted writer and what I mean by that is, I open the document writer and just start typing. I never have a plan! But that's just the way I roll! Any who, I hope you guys enjoy the turn of events!**_

_**If you subscribe, for the love of GOD! Review the story! Just review it please! I beg of you! I need motivation from you guys! *glares* You people are lucky we have braygirl. Otherwise I wouldn't be updating! REVIEW!**_

_**Thanks braygirl =)**_

Charles stood before his daughters door nervously. He knew she had said she would sleep in for the day but it was three in the afternoon. Delia had told him to leave her be and the Maitlands just shrugged it off. Charles were suspicious about that but pushed it aside for the time being.

He reached for the knob and turned it quietly. He popped his head into the room and saw Lydia sleeping soundly in her bed. He smiled to himself and was about to leave but he noticed the expression on her face. It looked disturbed somehow. Charles argued with himself over whether he should go wake her. He said when he defeated himself and decided to leave her alone, she was probably just tired.

He walked down and Delia came up to hug him. "How is she?" She asked into his ear.

He returned the hug. "She's still sound asleep. I guess she's just really tired." He said. "Haven't you noticed she's been out of it lately?" He asked worriedly.

"For Lydia? Yes. She's been a little distant. I mean, more than usual." She said as she walked into the kitchen. He followed her in.

"Well, aren't you concerned? What if somethings going on? Lydias' not the kind of girl that talks about her problems. At least...not with us but she would have mentioned something to the Maitlands." He said with concern in his voice.

Delia stopped chopping the potatoes to face him with a warm smile. "Well, the Maitlands are in the attic. Why don't you go on up and ask them?" She said as she pointed towards the roof with the knife.

"I will." Charles said as he made his way out.

He knocked on the door and waited a minute until Barbara opened the door. She looked shocked for a second but then smiled sweetly as she let Charles in.

"Mr. Deetz, what brings you up here? Is everything alright?" She asked curiously as Adam walked up behind her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I was just going to ask something...about Lydia."

Barbara gave Adam a worried look that was laced with fear. He returned her gaze and then fixed his gaze on Charles.

"Why? Is anything wrong?" He asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I came up here to check if you knew anything. She usually likes to talk with you two. You know, she relates better to the dead..." He said awkwardly.

Adam gave Barbara's arm a squeeze, signaling that he was stuck.

"Well, Lydia hasn't told us anything other than Halloween. Maybe that's what's stressing her. She takes Halloween very seriously." Barbara suggested.

Charles expression relaxed considerably. "Oh, right. That slipped my mind. That must be it." He said as he hurried to the door. "Thank you for your help." He said before shutting the door. He didn't like the attic. It felt like someone...well, died in there. All cold and mysterious.

Adam released the breath he had held when he squeezed Barbara's arm. "That was close. Thanks Barbara." He said as he sat in the couch. The sheet over it slipped off and dust flew everywhere causing him to cough.

"I wonder how Lydia is. I mean, if Charles noticed, there must be something bothering her a great deal, Adam. Do you think it's about him?" Barbara fixed the sheet on the couch.

"Oh Barbara, of course it's about him. What else would be bothering her like that?" Adam said in defeat. "I'm worried he will get his way. I don't know what's wrong here..." He said thoughtfully.

"Neither do I and I'm worried something will happen to Lydia. I feel useless..." Barbara said as she sat in Adam's lap and rested her head on his chest. He laid his chin on her head and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I don't think there's anything we can do now. We have no idea of what's going on with him and I'm sure Lydia doesn't have a clue yet either..." He sighed.

"Oh Adam, can't we talk with Juno or something?" Barbara asked desperately.

Adam was thoughtful for a while and then sighed. "I suppose it's worth a try..." He said hesitantly.

Barbara rushed to her feet and searched for a piece of chalk. She stuffed it into Adam's hand and pulled him towards the brick wall he had used a year ago.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Adam? Go." Barbara whispered cautiously.

Adam pressed the chalk against the wall hesitantly. He looked back at Barbara for any sign of a second thought. He really didn't want to talk to Juno and have the slightest chance to run into _him_. Barbara gave him a nod to proceed. With a sigh, he drew the door. He looked back again with a worried expression.

Barbara sighed. "If it's the only way we can help Lydia, then gosh darn it, were going to do it, Adam! No matter what the heck waits for us on the other side." Barbara said determinedly.

Adam sighed and drew the knob. He knocked three times hesitantly before taking a step back. Barbara took hold of his hand as the door opened and lit the room in a dim green. The smoke rolled in and they walked into it, going through the door.

When the smoke cleared out, they were in Juno's office to their surprise. They thought to end up in the waiting room again like last time. Barbara hid behind Adam at the sight before her.

Juno was standing at her desk with a furious expression on her face. Before her...stood a equally furious Beetlejuice. At the moment they were yelling at each other angrily, arguing over something. Juno saw the couple from behind the furious poltergeist and smiled at them welcoming. That's a first.

"You, shut up!" She yelled at Beetlejuice. "Mr. and Mrs. Maitland! Come over here! It's been too long!"

Beetlejuice whirled back to come face to face with the couple. They didn't get the loud and hyper greeting they were used to. Instead, he growled and pushed past them, to sit in one of the chairs meant for the couple. Barbara sat in the chair next to Beetlejuice and Adam leaned on the back of the chair, holding her shoulders protectively.

"What brings you two here? Is there a problem again?" Juno asked as she released the smoke in her mouth, a bigger amount escaping from the slit in her throat.

"Well..." Barbara started nervously. She certainly didn't expect him to be here. "We were going to...uh..." She glanced at the ghost from the corner of her eye. He was looking in the opposite direction. His very posture told them how pissed he was.

"Well?" Juno asked in annoyance. "I don't have all day, you know."

"Well, maybe we didn't come at the right time. It seems that you were having an important conversation with him already. Maybe we should come back another time." Adam said casually as possible. They heard Beetlejuice mumble something incomprehensible.

"No, he knows that is out of the question. I was about to kick him out anyway." Juno said waving her hand dismissively.

Barbara swallowed her nerves. "What is out of the question?" She glanced back at him. His grip on the arm rests was strong enough. When she asked, the armrests cracked audibly. Barbara flinched and Adam gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"Bunch of losers..." Beetlejuice mumbled before leaving the office with a slam of the door.

"He was trying to con his way out of our agreement." Juno said simply.

"Which is?" Adam pressed on as he took Beetlejuice's previous seat.

"He wanted to be able to come out of the model." Juno said as she scribbled down on some papers.

"The model?" Barbara asked in shock. "He's in the model in our attic?"

Juno looked up at them with her eyes. "Of course. That's where he lives."

Adam shifted awkwardly, leaning his elbows on his knees. "He's been in the model all along? Why hasn't he made a fuss like last time?" He asked.

"Because he's trapped in his house. You remember when you dug out the coffin? Well, that's the door, underneath that, is the room. He's trapped in there until he's is summoned out." Juno explained as she continued her work. They remained silent and she assumed they wanted to know more. She sighed and smoke came out of the slit in her throat. "Once he's summoned out, he isn't automatically free. He still has to get married but when he falls in love. If he isn't in love and he gets married, he'll still be trapped." She explained.

"Why did you choose Lydia to be the only one to summon him?" Adam asked.

"Because she's the only one that knows about him like that. Besides, he wouldn't agree on the terms if it wasn't her." She answered simply. "If Lydia lets him out, he's out. It works just like before."

"How is it that he can communicate with Lydia if he's trapped?" Barbara asked.

"He can what?" Juno said as she slammed her fist against her desk.

They flinched in their seats. "He can communicate with her." Barbara repeated dumbly.

"He isn't supposed to be able to do that. How is it he can communicate with her?" Juno demanded to know.

"We don't know that yet. Lydia told us that he had been able to write on her window with a marker, she could feel his presence when the room feels creepy and cold. Then she told us he could talk to her." Adam explained.

"Don't forget that he lifted her bed off the ground that one night." Barbara added hurriedly.

Juno sighed, filling the room in smoke. "He's stronger than I thought. Damn it!" She hissed. "He must be using his mirror. It works like a portal. He can see her but she can't see him. Either way, talking? That is nearly impossible. How the hell is he pulling this off?" Juno asked thoughtfully.

"He is a powerful being..." Barbara mumbled. "Juno..." She looked down at her hands and prepared herself for the wrath of Juno. "We're worried that Lydia might be accepting him, slowly but surely." She said hesitantly.

Juno leaned forward menacingly, leaning her body on her arms that were on the desk. "What do you mean _accept_?" She hissed.

"We don't know yet..." Adam said thoughtfully. "Whatever the case, I think she's in danger with him around." Adam said.

Juno slumped back into her chair. "I hate to tell you this but...I can't do anything about this. I set the limits thinking that would be it. Now, he's finding a way around this and I can't do much to help and neither can you two. It's up to her. As long as she doesn't summon him, he won't be a great threat. Once he's out, he can create havoc everywhere." Juno said in defeat.

Barbara whimpered. "Lydia is falling for him, Juno. She's bound to summon him!"

Juno smiled weakly. "I wouldn't worry too much. That sorry son of a bitch is falling for her too." Juno said knowingly.

"What?" Adam asked in shock. "What makes you say that?"

"He came over here to ask me if I would allow him to at least be able to be seen by her. I think that means there's something going on in his head about her." Juno explained.

"He wants to be out there with Lydia?" Barbara asked.

"I didn't say that. He's still the same. He hasn't changed. He's still a con-artist that wants out and will do anything and everything to be set free." Juno warned.

They were silent and deep in thought for a few minutes until Barbara spoke up.

"When I looked at him today...he looked different. I can't place my finger on what it was though..." Barbara said thoughtfully. It was a statement not a question but Juno answered anyway.

"He lost weight." Juno said simply.

"He did?" Adam asked dumbly.

"Sure. Being locked up for a year will do that to a ghost. I think he's doing something with his hair too." Juno said as she waved her cigarette around lazily.

Adam and Barbara looked at each other in disbelief. Barbara looked over at Juno.

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" She asked desperately.

"As of now, there's nothing any of us can do. Just hope they stay away from each other. I'll try to keep Beetle under a more watchful eye. We'll keep in touch." With a strong gust of wind, the Maitlands were back in the attic. It was slightly more dark in the room now.

They walked to the couch and plopped down into it, ignoring the ever present dust that flew off of it. Barbara cuddled up to Adam and sighed. Adam stroked her hair gently and just stared at the wall. They had no idea what was in store for them. All they knew was that they couldn't do a thing to help. Although ghosts didn't need sleep, he shut his eyes and just slipped into a frozen state of mind along with his wife.

Lydia was still sleeping in her room. It started to rain hard and that set a calm environment for Lydia. Her expression softened as she curled up under her sheets with a sigh.

Charles walked up to Lydia's room quickly and knocked on her door. He opened it and peeked in carefully. Lydia was sitting up in her bed lazily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Ah, I'm glad you're up! Morgan is waiting for you on the phone downstairs and it's about time you woke up. It's almost six already." He said as he ripped the curtains apart, letting the orange sunlight crawl in the dark room.

Lydia yawned as she nodded her head. Charles walked out and left Lydia to her privacy. Lydia brushed her teeth to get rid of the gooey saliva in her mouth. She walked out lazily and picked the phone off the counter. She slid down the wall and sat on the cold floor. She moved the phone cord around her finger lazily and with a sigh, she answered the phone.

"Hel-" She tried to say before she was cut off.

"_Oh Lydia! Please help me! I'm in the alley near our school. Hector is somewhere around here looking for me." _Morgan whispered frantically on the the other line.

Lydia was fully awake now. "What? Why?" She asked urgently. She made sure to keep her voice low so Delia wouldn't hear her from the living room.

"_Well, as it turned out, Hector has a fake license. He's actually 18..."_ Morgan tried to explain between sobs. Lydia cut her off this time.

"What? He's already a legal adult! He should have a legal license! And why the hell would he lie about his age like that? Wouldn't a guy want to be _younger_ in his case?" Lydia hissed. "Fucking pedophile freak!" She mumbled under her breath.

"_He said it was something about a-" _Morgan stopped talking abruptly and Lydia could hear her frantic movements as she seemed to be running again. Lydia waited helplessly for Morgan to speak again. _"A adult book store. He needed to be certain age or something like that. I told him he was a jerk and I would tell everyone how much of a psycho he was..." _Morgan continued out of breath.

Lydia held back a yell by biting her tongue. "Why the hell would you tell him that? Is that why he's after you?" Lydia snapped.

"_Yes and for added affect, his partner in crime is with him! Lydia, please help me! You're the only one that knows about them! I can't tell anyone else."_ Morgan begged frantically. Lydia could clearly hear her fear beneath her crying.

Lydia got up from the floor and cupped the bottom of the phone to her mouth. "Alright just stay calm and don't move. I'm on my way there. I'll sneak Delia's phone with me too so I can call you." Lydia whispered quickly and was about to hang up but Morgan called out to her quickly.

"_I think you should know something..." _Morgan said sheepishly. _"Now that you know, you're involved and...Joshua is with Hector." _She whispered quickly. Lydia was frozen in place. She heard Morgan beginning to run again, her footsteps quick and her sobs loud. That was enough to get Lydia moving again.

"Just do what I said. Hide somewhere safe. I'll be there as soon as I can manage!" Lydia said before hanging the phone up and rushing up to her room.

She shut her door and changed her clothes. She pulled on some black pants, a black sweater and finally a long black trench coat. She pulled on some old boots and a old fashioned Gothic hat before running downstairs and into the living room.

"Hey, can I borrow your phone for the night? Morgan is having some problems and she needs my help. I'll use your phone to let you guys know what happens. Please." Lydia rushed out.

"Sure, I guess. Just make sure you keep it safe." Delia said as she handed Lydia her black cellphone.

"Thanks! I'll see you guys later! Hopefully..." She mumbled the last part to herself as she bounded off outside. She stopped abruptly at the porch as she glared at the pouring rain. The rain clouds made the evening darker than she needed. "Shit..." She mumbled as she ran into the rain without a second thought.

Lydia sprinted down the slippery hill carefully and winced whenever a raindrop pelted her face violently. Thunder and lightning began to roll and Lydia quickened her pace. Soon enough, she was at the entrance of the alley near her school. She spotted a box and crawled in it despite the smell of it. She dialed Morgan's number frantically and waited for her answer.

"_I'm further in, Lydia. I'm hiding behind the dumpster on the left wall." _Morgan said as soon as she had answered.

Lydia snapped the phone shut and began to run towards her friend quickly. She was less than ten feet away when she heard two angry voices she recognized as Hector and Joshua's. Without having time to think about it, she dove in behind some trash bags that reeked like death itself. A second later, they rounded the corner that was directly across from her. Lydia held her breath, more in fear than over the stench.

She could tell they were arguing over something when Joshua shoved Hector against a wall. Unlike him. Joshua wasn't that aggressive.

"He must be drunk!" Lydia hissed to herself. She took that chance and scurried out from the trash and towards her friend quickly. She spotted the dumpster and saw Morgan's shadow on the opposite wall.

She ran behind the dumpster across from the one Morgan hid behind. She looked to the left with her eyes and saw Morgan pressed against the wall of the green dumpster just as she was. She was visibly shaking.

Morgan forced a weak smile to her rescuer and Lydia smiled back halfheartedly. Lydia peeked her head around the wall of her hideout, searching for the two men. When she didn't see them, she crawled to the other side and pressed her back to the wall. Much to their dismay, she more than likely threw herself on the wall thus making a loud thud that echoed through the alley. Morgan gasped and shut her eyes tightly as she hit her head against the wall.

Without planning, Lydia grabbed her punk friend's hand and began to run, dragging her along. She looked back and saw their shadows growing against the wall of the alley as they ran down the hall they were previously arguing at. Lydia turned a sharp corner, earning herself a scratch to her thigh by a rusty wire that stuck out from a trash bag. She gasped at the pain but kept pushing on. She looked towards Morgan. She looked terrified and tired. Then Lydia noticed the scratch that ran across her cheek. The rain washed the blood down considerably.

Lydia turned another corner and pressed Morgan up against a wall quickly. "Hector did that to you?" She asked accusingly.

"No, it was Joshua. He's drunk." Morgan wailed over the sound of the rain pelting the ground. "It was a threat so I wouldn't say anything."

"Sick bastards!" Lydia growled as she grabbed her wrist and began to run again. She yelp as she realized they were headed right into a dead end. She tried to stop but the mud beneath her feet made her skid right into the wall and she fell onto her back. Morgan, who had managed to stop herself with her arms against the wall, pulled her up to her feet and began to run in the other direction.

Just as expected, Hector and Joshua turned the corner and were stalking up towards them. Morgan kept running straight towards them at full speed with Lydia in tow.

"Stop! Are you crazy, Morgan?" Lydia screamed as she tried to pry her hand from her strong grip.

"Trust me." Morgan said. Then, before Lydia could blink, Morgan swung her forward. Lydia stumbled forward but continued to run besides her friend at full speed. She prayed to the Lord Morgan knew what she was doing.

Lydia crossed her arms over her face as the space between them was a mere foot or two. To her surprise, the two men moved out of the way before they had a chance to collide. Lydia blinked in shock but just bolted forward. She nearly fell to the ground when Morgan yanked her arm to the left causing her body to follow abruptly.

"What the hell Morgan?" Lydia shouted angrily as she stumbled to recover her balance.

Lightning struck the ground and the thunder followed soon after, muffling Morgan's answer. Lydia just followed her friend. She looked back and saw Hector sprinting behind them a few feet away. Lydia's heart skipped a beat when she heard something crash into the wet ground. Morgan had a good grip on her arm and couldn't stop running. She looked around behind her and she spotted the cellphone on the ground, under the bench. Morgan looked back and saw the terror in her face. She followed her gaze and recognized the cellphone.

"I'm sorry, Lyds. It's our lives or the cellphone." Morgan said as she turned a corner. Up ahead was the exit they needed. They could tell because it wasn't dimly lit like the alley. Morgan sprinted out of the alley and ran into some trees to catch her breath.

"Morgan, I need to get that phone back. Delia will kill me if I don't!" Lydia said between each shaky breath.

"At least Delia would consider it. Joshua won't! There are plenty phones out there!" Morgan tried to reason with her.

Lydia sighed. "You're right. Let's go!" She said as she ran in the direction of her home. Morgan took another route, to her own house. When Lydia couldn't see her anymore, she turned on her heel and ran back towards the alley. She wasn't leaving without that phone. All of Delia's career was in it with all the numbers of those important people she depended on. Her father wouldn't forgive her in a while if Delia lost her job.

Lydia stopped at the entrance to the alley and immediately spotted the phone on the ground. Thank God, Lydia put it in it's holder so it wouldn't get wet. Lydia bolted towards the phone, scooped it up in her hand and turned back all in one swift movement. Then, she crashed right into him, falling to the ground.

"Need a hand, Lydia?" Joshua hissed as he reached for her. Lydia slid back and jumped to her feet, getting ready to run in the other direction. But alas, there stood Hector. She froze between them, slightly crouched over for protection.

"I won't tell anyone." Lydia tried. Her voice was hard and cold. It also, shook.

"I'm sure you won't. But Morgan can't keep a secret even if her life depended on it." Joshua said as he stalked closer towards Lydia.

"Then why keep me here? I'm no use to you guys now." Lydia snapped.

"Not for our situation, no. But you're still valuable for other things." Joshua hissed.

Lydia glanced over at Hector. His expression was stoic and it scared Lydia greatly. But in his eyes, she could almost make out sympathy. Had Joshua made Hector like this? A sick man?

Joshua inched closer towards Lydia and she turned back to glare at him, taking a step back, towards Hector. Lightning struck behind him and Lydia scoffed at the irony of it all. Joshua raised an amused eyebrow and smirked. Lydia had to figure something out soon. Her eyes scanned her surroundings hopefully. Why the hell was he taking his precious time to close a gap of about five feet?

"What am I valuable for then?" Lydia asked as if she were amused.

"Other things..." Joshua mumbled.

Lydia didn't know what to do. She turned on her heel and ran in Hector's direction, running past him in a blur. She ran around the alley like a maze for what seemed to be forever until she tripped with something. She hid behind an old laundry machine and glanced at the object. It was a mirror.

Like a fist to her face, the thought of Beetlejuice came to her. He would surely help her out her. Then again, he hadn't been there the night before. He left her and she was to blame for making him leave. She heard something scurry around near her and she flinched. She looked around and saw a small mouse next to her leg. It wasn't a big alley rat, it was a small mouse. The kind people have as pets. Lydia gently scooped him up into her hands and smiled at it. Then, she remembered that they hated rats!

Yes, these two men were disgusted by rats of all kinds. But it would take more than one little mouse to spook them away... Lydia put the little mouse in her pocket safely and got up from the ground, taking the mirror with her. In a split second, there were arms around her waist and in another second, Lydia smashed the mirror on Joshua's head without any remorse.

He cursed out and clutched his now bleeding head tightly. Lydia didn't hesitate to run back towards the exit. But there to greet her was none other than Hector. She skidded to a stop and just looked at him. He stared back intently. Then, he did the unexpected. He turned around and leaned against the wall.

"Joshua has a hard head. If you wanna get out in one piece, scram." Hector snapped.

"How did you know I hit his head?" Lydia asked cautiously.

"I know his curse words..." He mumbled. "Scram, bitch." He snapped as he turned to face her.

Lydia was taken aback by his words and knew it would be smart to take the chance and just leave. But, something took over and she acted on impulse. She ran at Hector, grabbed him by the wrist and ran into the trees across from the alley. She let him go and walked as far away as normally possible.

"The fuck, Lydia?" He hissed.

"Let me get this straight. You guys are _how_ old?" Lydia asked bravely.

"Why the hell should I tell you that?" He snapped.

"Because you scared the jeepers out of me and I don't know if the fact of not knowing how old you guys are, is going to make me blurt it out someday to someone important, like say, my parents or some police that are off duty." Lydia threatened.

Hector furrowed his brow and his jaw clenched enough for Lydia to see it in the dark. "Joshua is 28 and I'm 21." He snapped.

Lydia held back her laughter at the irony of it all. "And I take it that he's the superior in the friendship. Like you don't want to do what he tells you." Lydia suggested.

"He ain't no superior." He snapped. "I don't like doing all this shit..." He mumbled. "and he isn't my friend...he's my brother. That's why I have to put up with his shit." Lydia opened her mouth to protest but he growled at her. "Listen, I don't want anything to do with you two cause I ain't no pedophile, now beat it before he finds out about this." He said, turning around to leave.

"Thanks, Hector. I wish I could say I owe you one but...I hate you so... I'll see you in hell." Lydia said smoothly as she ran off to her house.

Lydia ran in the mud as the rain still kept pouring cats and dogs outside. She was headed in the right direction, she just couldn't see well. She could see a glimpse of the bridge leading to her house from where she was. She pulled her hat lower and suddenly, she was on the ground. She looked up to see what she crashed into. She gasped when it wasn't a what, but in fact a _who. _And man was she terrified of who it was.

"H-Hi Adam..."


	9. It's all history, babes

_**A/N: I don't even know what to say...the last chapter was so out of whack...Sorry if you thought it was too much and out of the plot line. Anyway...I think that kind of stuff is over...just...STUFF I WILL NOT TELL! HEH HEH, YOU GOTTA READ TO FIND OUT! Alright, review please, people! I really need them, I'm running outta juice here! (No pun intended)**_

Adam leaned over and grabbed Lydia by the shoulders, hoisting her up. He took one good look at her and Lydia cringed in fear at his strong glare. He literally dragged Lydia all the way into the house and up into the attic. He slammed the door shut and sat her onto the couch. Barbara immediately bought them towels and blankets and then settled to scowling at Lydia.

"Lydia, I don't even know where to begin!" Barbara scolded.

"But I do." Adam said. "I've been searching for you for an hour out there! I couldn't find you anywhere, you had me worried sick! I can't even begin to explain ho-...What on earth happened to your leg, Lydia?" Adam asked, anger totally forgotten, replaced by worry. He leaned over and grabbed her leg to examine it. He ripped the pants where the blood was and gasped softly.

"It was a rusty wire. I got scratched." Lydia said sheepishly.

"Why don't you explain what was going on while I clean this up?" Adam demanded.

Lydia sighed as he picked up the emergency kit. Barbara sat beside her and held out her hand for her. Lydia took it gratefully as Adam poured alcohol over her wound. Lydia gave Barbara's hand a strong squeeze and Barbara yelped.

"Well..." Lydia closed her eyes and sighed. Barbara and Adam were silent as Lydia explained everything to them. By the time she finished telling her story, Adam had cleaned her scratch and wrapped it up in some bandages.

Adam was pacing back and forth and Barbara had her head buried in her hands.

"Lydia, I know you already know that your life was at risk but, how were you even considering keeping this to yourself? Don't even answer that!" Adam said angrily but the concern was clearly there.

"Adam, I don't think Lydia wants to talk about this now...Maybe tomorrow we can talk, the Deetzes are going to another meeting and won't be back until late. I think right now, all we need to do is relax. Besides, we have a few things we need to tell Lydia that are really important but like I said, I don't think now is the right moment." Barbara said, her sweet voice calming the fuming ghost.

Adam just grumbled and opened the door for Lydia. He mumbled a 'good night' and then closed the door softly.

Lydia sighed and went to take a hot bath. After her bath, she crawled into her bed and just broke down. Never in her life had she been in something like that. She was terrified. Her entire body shook violently as she cried and cried, soaking her pillows. She buried her head into the pillow and just screamed. Screamed enough to let all her emotions pour out. She didn't even care if anyone heard her.

But actually, she did. She wanted Beetlejuice to hear her and come out to cheer her up with his gross humor and wild personality. Lydia turned over and breathed heavily.

"No, I am not going to call him..." And that's when it hit her. If he had wanted to marry her, he was also a pedophile. Even if she didn't count his afterlife as well over 600 years, he was still older than her by a lot. She was only 14 _now, _when he had wanted to marry her, she was only 12 going on 13 soon. And that would have meant necrophilia too.

Something in her gut told her off about it though. She would have argued but then and there was when she remembered that he didn't have the slightest idea of how old she was. Come to think about it, she didn't know a thing about him. But either way, necrophilia and pedophilia weren't something Lydia accepted. Necrophilia more than pedophilia if she tolerated any at all.

Lydia slammed her pillow over her face and groaned miserably. Life was becoming harder and harder to bear with each passing day and that wasn't an exaggeration.

She tried to shut her thoughts out but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. And truth be told, her brain actually hurt because of how much it was being strained. She couldn't handle it anymore. If that was her only outlet right now, than so be it. She just hoped he didn't curse much today. Lydia only cursed when she was extremely mad and afterward she felt the need to wash her tongue with soap, today was little exception.

"Beetlejuice..." She called out in her strained voice. "Beetlejuice..." It came out as a sob. "Beetlejuice." A whisper.

A wind threw her windows open and a cyclone of fall leaves came into her room. As the leaves twirled and flew out the window, he was appearing. She stared at his entrance and at that crooked grin of his that looked extremely happy.

His face fell when he saw her miserable state. He hovered over to her and floated over her body, staring at her face curiously.

"Hey..." She whispered with a small weak smile. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you."

"I never thought you'd see me." He mumbled more to himself than to her. He twirled over and sat at the edge of the bed. "What's buggin' ya, babes?" He asked coolly.

Lydia explained everything to him, not having a care in the world of who she had just talked to about it. Lydia watched him as he stood up and stomped to the end of the bed. Without warning, his head started to spin like a top and he screamed like a siren. Once his head stopped, or rather, he stopped it, he was fuming, literally.

"Those guys just make me wanna lose my head!" He shouted as he ripped his head off his shoulders. Lydia gasped, she had never really seen what he was capable of.

He put his head back on, twisting it like a screw. "If I can snake my hands around their necks, I'll snap their heads off!" His arms morphed into striped snakes, perfect black and white lines ran down them. "Come on, Lyds! Let's get 'em!" He said as he morphed into a pair of giant, black and white scissors.

"No, BeeJay. Hector let me get away, I don't want to hurt him." Lydia said weakly as if considering it.

"Then let's get the other one! Two are always better than one but one is better than none!" He said in his usual loud tone. "It's my job anyway! You summoned me!" He tried to convince as he started to grow.

"I summoned you but...I just want to talk." Lydia said sheepishly.

He shrank back down to his normal size and sat back down on the bed. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Talk?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, is that wrong? Because if you don't want to talk, it would be my pleasure to send you back." Lydia said sadly even if she had gone for teasing.

"No, no, no! I'm all ears, babes!" He twirled into a giant ear with beetles crawling in and out. "Shoot!" He spun around and was a giant toy gun. The trigger pulled itself and a white flag popped out with some smoke.

Lydia giggled and he turned back to his normal self. She sighed then, "I don't really know what to say..." She looked away from him. "I mean, there are so many things..." She mumbled.

He flew into the air and laid back casually. "I have time, Lyds." He said as he shot her a 'I'm serious' look.

"Well...for one...where were you yesterday? You didn't come when I called you." Lydia said as she turned back to him.

He lost concentration and fell into the bed. He pushed himself up with his arms and leaned back on them. "You called me?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah... I don't know why so don't ask..." She mumbled. "Where were you? Where are you? Tell me everything, Beetleju-"

"Ah, ah, uh! No saying the B word, babes." He said as he shook his finger as a no. "I wasn't around. I was at...an old friends place. A get together." He lied.

"What's new?" She asked simply but he knew what she wanted to know.

"Well, I'm still a prisoner, I still gotta get hitched, I have to be in total love with whoever I marry," He gagged himself with his finger. "I just got outta my prison for tha first time in a whole year, I'm still stuck and that stupid model, I have bee-"

"Wait, you're stuck in the model? You've been in the model the whole time? Just like before?" Lydia asked in disbelief.

"Sorda. You see, I'm still stuck there but I'm bound to mah room, you know what I mean?" He mumbled sheepishly.

"No, I don't."

"I mean, I'm stuck in my room. I can't even come out in the model..." He grumbled. "Like I was sayin', I found a way to bug ya through my good ol' mirror and a few other loopholes and that's pretty much it, I guess."

"Yeah, about the mirror thing. Why is it that it only works one way? Why can't I se- Did you loose weight?" Lydia shouted in shock. How could she have not noticed?

"Huh? Oh yeah!" He floated up straight and spun around slowly. "You like?" He asked suggestively.

"You look great, Beetleju-" He slammed his hand over her mouth. She moved it away and wiped her face in disgust. "Sorry, sorry!" Her eyes widened. "And your hair too?" She asked as she took a better look at him.

Beetlejuice shifted under her stare and just grinned dumbly. "Yeah, combing it. As it turns out, it's easier to brush your hair when your head isn't on your shoulders, ever notice?" He joked.

Lydia was too fixed on him to even laugh. She couldn't believe he brushed his hair back. It was straight and reached over his shoulders. She never noticed it was blonde before. She never noticed his eyes were a deep green, she never noticed how his shoulders looked so broad, she never noticed that, despite being an undead ghost, his arms were slightly beefy. He was a good looking ghost and she never noticed.

"Stop starin', you're freakin' me out, Lyds." He said awkwardly.

"I'm freaking you out? I'm very proud of myself then." She smiled teasingly and he looked away annoyed. "You look better than before, BeeJay. But...you still smell like a million gallons of raw, toxic sewage." She said pinching her nose.

"Awn, go on." He joked. "I guess bein' locked up for a year gave me nothin' to do other than that." He said with a shrug.

"And you didn't have time to take a bath and brush your teeth?" Lydia complained.

He laid down in the air and dropped his head back to face Lydia...upside down. He grinned. "Baths? I hate baths, Lyds. Anything that involves _clean..._ or nice... or anything but the Ghost with the Most, babes." He said smugly and then chuckled. His chuckle was so deep, it was practically just a rumble in his chest. Unlike his laughter...his oh-so hair raising, blood curdling, nerve wracking, cynical laughter.

"I can tell, yuck!" Lydia said before gagging on the toxic fumes that radiated off of him. Lydia could tell things were getting awkward and fast. She knew she needed to keep Beetlejuice out of trouble. "Why did you get so worked up over what happened with Hector and Joshua?" She blurted out before she could register she was even speaking.

He drifted down to the bed and sat with his legs crisscrossed across from her. "Well, why wouldn't I be? Two brainless idiots were messin' with my girl. That's somethin' to get worked up over." He said as he laid down and rested his head over his arms. "We _were_ almost married, you know?" He said casually.

"Beetleju- I mean B. You don't know anything about me..." Lydia said.

"Yeah, so?" He grumbled as he moved his head to the side so he could face her. Her expression was annoyed. He sighed and floated up into a sitting position. "What do I have to do?" He asked in defeat.

"I want to know about you first, BeeJay." Lydia said as she laid on her belly, resting her head on her hands that were perched up.

"Oh, no! No can do, babes. I'm not tellin' you 'bout my past." He said as he waved his arms in front of him.

Lydia scowled at him. "And why not?" She asked in annoyance.

"Because I said I won't and I won't, babes. I won't." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly.

Lydia growled and sat up on her knees. "Beetlejuice!" She said before he could stop her. He shrieked in terror.

"Now babes, no need to get feisty! I just can't tell ya!" He pushed on.

"Beetlejuice!" She hissed. He floated up with his knees bent. His expression was that of somewhat annoyed and irratated. "Beetle-!"

"Alright, alright already! Just don't say it! I'll tell ya about my stupid past, alright? Jeez..." He shouted angrily before floating back down onto the other side of the bed. "Where should I start?" He asked her, his back facing her.

"A little before you died." Lydia whispered curiously.

"Well..." His shoulders drooped. "I was actually gonna get married to the most beautiful gal I had ever met..." He mumbled and then he scoffed. "Of course by then I had caught the black plague and at first, it wasn't anything we couldn't handle but then, life decided to be a bitch and make it from bad, to worst. So I got the plague at it's worst and so had she. She died before I had and hell did I miss her..." He trailed off.

Lydia was shocked silent. She crawled up next to him and searched for his eyes for him to continue.

"So I lived through the black plague..." He trailed off again. This time Lydia was taken aback too much. 

"You lived _through_ it? To the very end?" She asked incredulously.

"Damn right I did. But, as all stories go, I died on the very last day. The day the sickness was declared over. Everything was fine cause everyone got treated...everyone but me..." He trailed off again.

"What? Why not?" She asked angrily. Furiously actually. He almost flinched, almost.

"I didn't wanna. The grief of losin' 'er was still heavy...so I didn't take the cure. Since the day she died, I wasn't just sick with the plague, I was also plagued by nightmares...of her. Eventually, I lost my cool and on the day the sickness was going to be 'over' I hid out in a bog...and just stayed there..." He said.

"What's a bog?" Lydia asked in a mere whisper.

"Glad you asked. It's a...a type of wetland...it has partially...or not so partially, decomposed plant material...and..." He looked away sheepishly. "...highly acidic water."

Lydia fell back into the bed and stared at the roof. She was bewildered. "That's tragic." She whispered.

"Ain't it? So, have any other questions? See if my ol' brain can remember things from 600 years ago...or is it 700? Hell if I know..."

Lydia shot a glare at him. "How can you be so...neutral...about all of that?"

"It's been a long time and I'm livin' the afterlife! Besides, I ran into 'er a while ago and as it turns out, she got hitched with the weather man in Hexas." He said casually.

Lydia laid back again and sighed. "How old were you when you died?" She almost feared the answer.

Beetlejuice was thoughtful for a moment, trying to remember that far back. Then he patted his knee when he finally remembered. "I was in my late twenties!" He shouted. "Ah, my prime time..." He said in a daze.

"That's why you don't look that old? I mean, for a ghost." She said sheepishly.

"Yep. I'm still physically and mentally in my late twenties or maybe I was thirty." He wiggled his eyebrows and fixed the front of his striped suit. "Still my prime time in the afterlife, babes. Gotta love it!"

Lydia rolled her eyes and hid a smile from him.

"Say, how old are ya anyways, Lyds?" He asked innocently.

"I'm..." She looked away. "I'm 14 now. When we met I was 12 years old." The room suddenly felt strange. It was cold and a horrible something loomed around. Whatever it was, it bugged her out. She looked at Beetlejuice and blinked in shock. His jaw was clenched and his fingers twitched.

"B..." She called out shyly.

"Say my name, Lydia." He said in a serious tone. It scared her. Lydia? He called her Lydia?

"What? Why?" She asked frantically.

"I have somewhere to go...I have to...talk with Juno...real important." He grumbled a lie.

"What? What's wrong? This isn't like you at all, Beetlejuice." She gasped as the word left her mouth.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Two more times, Lyds." He whispered.

"But why? I...I-I don't want you to go, B." She pleaded helplessly.

Beetlejuice's heart clenched. "Two more times." He said again. He couldn't stand this but he needed to leave. He knew he could just vanish in thin air without her help but...he wanted to hear her sweet voice one more time saying his name before he left... "Please Lydia, help me out here. I really have...to go." He choked on his words.

"But I-"

"Don't make this so hard, Lydia!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Beetlejuice..." She whispered. "Please do-"

"One more time, babes. Just one more and I'm off to the conference with Juno. I'll be back, whether you like it or not." He smirked weakly at her. He floated up, readying himself for the exit.

"Goodbye, Beetlejuice..." She said in a sob.

Just then, he began to disappear rapidly. He looked at her hard and smiled. "I'm sorry, Lydia." He said in a mere, gruff whisper. Lydia's alarm clock floated into his disappearing hand and then, he flung it into the mirror, causing it to shatter.

Lydia screeched in terror and pain. "Why? Beetleju-!" She said frantically.

"Don't call me back, Lyds. Trust me, I'm not coming back if you do..." His voice faded with his body. "...I'll be back with time, I promise, Lyds. I pro..." He was gone.

Lydia stared at the empty space in her room where he was just seconds ago. She stayed like that for hours. The sun began to rise and she remained still as a statue, her face expressionless. Her father came in, she remained the same, Delia, indifferent...the Maitlands...she broke down into violent hysterics.

Halloween came by and she just stayed locked up in her room, watching the trick-or-treaters run around happily in their costumes. Laughing and scaring their friends out of their wits. For every ghost, there was a tear down her face. She put on the wedding dress. The blood red wedding dress that matched her bloodstained, swelled eyes. The day after Halloween she pulled herself together for the sake of her family and the fact she didn't want another new psychologist.

The Maitlands didn't come near her for a month since then. Lydia had gone up there once...to ask if they could switch rooms. Without hesitation the couple agreed, not wanting for her to break down. She had convinced them to leave the model in her new room.

Not once had Lydia ever spoken about anything that had happened...not even to herself. She had become closer to everyone, yet she felt distant. Since then, she had stayed in her room most of her time and just sat in front of the model, staring for countless hours without moving an inch. Her parents and the Maitlands tried everything they could to help her but she just seemed lost to them and herself.

She took the ring, the dress, the sculpture, everything he gave to her, and locked it away. She tied the key around her neck and never took it off. Never.

The nights on Halloween, she would stare out the window, looking at everyone enjoy the holiday. But she would never go out. Morgan tried to get to her day in and day out but Lydia just wouldn't budge, not even to tell her to leave her alone. She would remain quiet whenever she had to and never spoke when asked what was the matter. She talked to everyone like any other person does when having a conversation but she never talked about _anything_ that would remind her of _anything_.

Beetlejuice had laid down in his bed. He felt sick to his stomach for the first time in his afterlife. He had almost forced a 12 years old girl into marrying him. What a sick ghost he was. He laid there for hours, days, weeks...all those days had been torture but he would never move from there. Never go into that blank state of mind that self-conscious ghosts used as sleep. He just stared at the roof, not thinking about anything. Not how to leave, not how to pull a big prank in the netherworld, not about Juno, not about anything. He just laid there, waiting.

He didn't mind the dust, the cobwebs, the temperature, the hunger, the thirst. Just, the loneliness. The feeling of utter hopelessness. Juno had popped around a few times but he looked truly dead. A dead corpse laying motionless on a bed without a care of what happened around him.

Juno stopped visiting after a year. She never got anything out of him no matter what she tried. She had even put a beetle before his nose. The only reaction she got was when finally, on a cold night, his long pointed tongue snaked out and lazily snatched the beetle from her hand and he just swallowed it. Then, she continued to do the same for the time that continued to pass. If he looked slimmer then, he looked like a worm now. His blueish skin paler than usual, the green grime on his translucent skin seemed more repulsive and the dark circles around his eyes were darker.

Beetlejuice felt so numb by then. In that time. That long, lonely, miserable time.

That had been like that for both of them for the longest of time. It was painful just to wake up every morning for Lydia and it was painful to not be able to do a goddamn thing about your life for Beetlejuice. So many strange feelings and yet, they weren't sure why.

Not until tomorrow... the same day he had left... two and a half years ago...


	10. Haunted Halloween

_**A/N: I apologize for taking so long to update, I know many of you have been very anxious about this story and I believe that I won't be discontinuing it any time soon, so don't worry about that. I may have lost interest, not hope. I'm sorry if this chapter turns out like crap, it's been a long while and I may have lost my touch. I truly hope I'm not letting you all down :/ The beginning is a bit slow, I think, sorry about that.**_

* * *

><p>Lydia stared at the dress Adam and Barbara gave her for her sixteenth birthday to wear on Halloween. Today. They knew that Lydia shut herself away on Halloween week but they never gave up hope that she would come back to her senses and once more be the Lydia they loved so much.<p>

Given, the dress was beautiful, as were all of the other dresses she was given in the past two years. This one, unlike the rest, was short. Barely reaching her knees. The skirt, like the rest, was puffy, layered in black and white randomly, no actual pattern. The top, like many others was a corset. Unlike the others, it tied together in the back, crisscrossed with fine lace. Black and white crossing each other. This one, not similar to the rest, has one splash of color. Red. Just one simple figure, yet it meant so much more to Lydia. What red could be seen was on outline of a heart. The inside of the heart, black. Dripping into the black, more red. An empty hole, where a beating heart once resided comfortably, no longer there, not able to take the suffering. That's what Lydia saw to it.

She traced the red. Her finger turning the curve, going down, back up and along the other curve. She glanced down, at the foot of her bed where black heeled boots sat, already covered in dust. The scarlet laces tied up perfectly into a messy bow at the top. She glanced up again, not at the dress laying on her bed neatly, but where her mirror was. She stared at her many reflections, as the glass remained shattered, just the way he left it. She wasn't the way he left her though.

Her hair, longer. Her bangs covering her cold, dark eyes. She bothered not, to look pleasing to the eye. Dark circles went around her eyes, black and purple, lack of sleep. Her skin, pale as always, but with a sickly glow to it. Her body, more developed to a point where it can be considered desirable by many, but terribly malnourished, lack of appetite, effect of depression. Her smile, beautiful and radiant as ever, broken and hardly present. Her lips, full and glossy, always turned into a pestering frown, although barely visible to others, was always there. Her eyes, always alert and expressive, now vacant and dull.

At times, she forced a smile to please her parents and ghostparents. At times, she uttered words to let them know there was still someone there. At times, she sat at the table and poked at her dinner. At times, she sat outside, only when it rained and stayed out for hours. No one ever questioned her actions, they decided she was happy that way.

Her parents left the house on trips for days at a time and Lydia would never notice. People would come visit, she would sit through it. They spoke to her, knowing she wasn't listening, hoping she would surprise them but she never did.

Adam and Barbara, after months of consideration, tried bringing him up. The sentence didn't make it out completely before Lydia sent them an icy glare, the most emotion she had showed in the course of the months that had passed.

She attended school less and less. Her parents didn't bother to talk to her about it anymore, they knew they would get nothing from her. Somehow, she managed to pass grades with A's and B's, so they didn't bother her about it. She stopped talking to her friends too. They still visited her though. Lydia found no point in speaking to anyone, they would never understand her. Not even she understood, she didn't expect anyone else to.

Adam and Barbara, getting desperate, ran to Juno for help. The ghost, pitying the girl, tried speaking to her. She even ushered her to call him. Lydia only said; "I can't. He told me not to." and then refused to see Juno any time after that.

Barbara always wondered, day and night, why she followed that order. She knew it was destroying her, though she never audibly admit it, yet she didn't call him nor did she try and move on. It made no sense to the ghost but she didn't dare question the troubled girl. If it were up to her, she would have called him herself, just to help her beloved Lydia but it was not in her hands to do so, nor did she have the power.

Lydia finally pried her eyes off the shattered mirror after what seemed like forever. She let her eyes fall to the shards of glass scattered over the floor. The tears that brimmed her eyes now fell. Every night, she would stare at that mirror, hoping that she would see any signs of him.

Lydia was getting tired of waiting. She began to wonder why. Why did she wait? What was she waiting for exactly? He would come back and then? Nothing would go back as it were before, she knew. She also wondered, every second of the day, why he left in the first place? What was the purpose of that? She had no clue, not one. Why did she want him back anyway? Friends come and go all the time. It hurts for some time and then it's gone. You forget. Why couldn't it be the same with him?

Lydia knew why. Because he was different. He made her feel ways no one else could. Not any living being, not any ghost, not anyone. He was special to her and he left far too soon. She never knew what she had, until it was gone. She didn't know it would hurt so much, for so long. She wasn't close to him, not friends exactly, but no one could deny that there was something special between them and she wouldn't deny it. There was no point in denying it, she felt so empty without him around.

She wanted to call him back. Every day she opened her mouth, the word in her throat, but the memory of him leaving flashed through her head each time. She feared that if she called, he'd leave and she knew it would hurt too much. On the other hand, she could call and there was a chance he wouldn't answer her and that would also hurt. She wondered what she did wrong. If he thought about her everyday like she thought about him. If he cared at all about how she was doing.

Has two years been enough? Was she getting tired of this silly routine? Tired of waiting for him to come back and everything to go back to normal? Yes. She was sick of it. So sick of it, it was driving her mad.

Lydia wasn't going to put up with this anymore. She wasn't going to beat herself up for something she didn't do. She wasn't going to sit around, dreaming he'd appear through a heavy mist with that feral grin on his face and call her babes. She wasn't.

Lydia began to tear her clothes off frantically. She snatched the dress off the bed and stepped into it, wiggling as she pulled it up. She struggled while fixing the laces in the back. She sat down on her bed to pull on the boots. She winced as she jammed her feet in, not bothering to loosen the laces in her haste. Her breathing was uneven, her hands shaking as she rimmed her eyes with liner and smothered her lashes with mascara. She painted her lips scarlet red, shimmering in the light. She hissed as more tears fell freely, making the makeup run. She hit her fists against the vanity and shook as she held her sobs in, she wasn't going to break down.

She took a sharp breath, then holding it as she stormed out of her room. She stomped her way down the stairs, straight to the kitchen. She ignored Delia entirely as she pulled out a big butchers knife and then slammed the drawer shut.

"You're going out tonight, Lyddie?" Delia asked excitedly, despite Lydia's mood.

Lydia walked out of the kitchen, swung the door open and walked out, slamming the door after her. Delia stood there, confused at what had just happened. Something told her to look at the stairs and she saw Adam and Barbara standing there, looking worried sick.

"Where do you think she's headed, Adam?" Barbara whispered to her husband.

Adam shook his head, "I don't know, Barbara..." He mumbled sadly.

* * *

><p>The streets were crawling with children under blankets with holes for eyes. Others had pumpkin heads and tattered clothes. Others were princesses, baseball players and fairies. Some adults accompanied their children dressed as a mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, witches and goblins. Lydia passed them by as if they weren't there. She had no idea where she was going but that didn't stop her.<p>

It took her a while to slow down and look around. She started to hear the laughter and joy and Halloween songs all around her. Had she almost forgotten the joy that this brought to her? Lydia loosened her grip on the knife. She frowned as she looked down at it. Why had she grabbed it in the first place? She dropped it into a trash can in disgust.

"Happy Halloween, lady!" A little boy under a white blanket said as he ran by her. Lydia didn't have time to even smile at him much less reply. She looked around again. The decorations were wonderful. Jack-o-lanterns, lights, spooky signs, skeletons, hanging bats, scarecrows, small coffins, walkway lights in the form of little, friendly looking ghosts and teepee flying all around, courtesy of the teens.

"AHHHH!" A shriek went off right into Lydia's ear. She flinched, covering her face with her arms and her eyes shut tight. "Found you!" Came a bubbly, giggly voice.

Lydia moved her arms, recognizing the voice immediately. "What are you doing here, Morgan?" She asked dumbly. She looked her over in that skimpy red riding hood costume.

"Looking for you of course! I went up to your house but your mo- I mean, Delia. Told me you were out! So I came down as quick as I could to find you and personally invite you to my Halloween Party!" She said, ending the sentence in screaming.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Morgan. I just want some fresh air." She said, her voice heavy as lead.

"Lyddie, you've already missed two of my Halloween Parties." She said more serious now. She sounded sad and disappointed.

Lydia sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. Morgan squealed in excitement and dragged her in the direction toward her house. It would be a long walk so Morgan decided to talk to her, hoping she'd talk back.

"We miss you a lot, Lyddie." She whispered, trying to look into her friend's face which was shadowed over by her hair. Lydia didn't respond in the least. Morgan frowned and tried again. "What brought you out this fine night?" She poked at her ribs with her elbow with a playful grin on her face.

"If I stayed in there any longer, I'd go insane." She mumbled.

"You mean more insane?" Morgan teased. Lydia's face grew darker if possible. Morgan swallowed hard. "Your costume is really cool. What are you supposed to be?" She asked, her voice still joyful.

"Lydia." She mumbled in response.

"This isn't Lydia." Morgan said seriously. Lydia noticed the change in her tone and tilted her head to look at her questioningly. "Lydia wasn't always this miserable." She said sadly. "You were fun to be around. Your stories and adventures were all so fascinating. Now you're this empty shell and you won't even tell us what's wrong." She said, obviously irritated. "We want to help you, Lyddie, but you have to let us." She whispered.

Lydia cracked a small, meaningless smile for the sake of her friend. She appreciated everything they did for her, but there was nothing they could do to help her. But she could try and help herself... She lifted her head slightly, forcing the smile a bit farther. "I just miss him." She mumbled.

"Who?" Morgan jumped right into it. She wanted to know what bothered her friend so badly. "Who do you miss, Lydia, you can tell me." She said, putting a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.

Lydia scoffed softly, "You wouldn't understand. Don't worry about it." She said, giving her a small reassuring smile.

"This all can't be about some guy you miss, Lydia. All of this depression, misery, can't be about some guy." She said disbelievingly.

"That's just it. He's not just some guy, Morgan." She said with a small, honest smile. Morgan stared at her friend in awe. She acted to strange.

"Why don't you just- Ah!" She squeaked as she tripped over a bump on the sidewalk. She steadied herself and then looked around. "Oh, we're here!" She said excitedly.

There was loud music playing from the inside. Though Morgan preferred pop music, she played all of her favorite rock songs at her Halloween parties. _Born Like This _by _Three Days Grace_ was playing. Colorful lights flashed out through the windows in wild patterns as the strobe light just flashed constantly, making Lydia a bit dizzy. She wanted to turn around and leave.

"Come on!" Morgan said, dragging her up the steps and flying through the porch and into the house. The toxic smell of alcohol and weed infiltrated Lydia's nose, making it sting and her stomach twist.

"Where are your parents?" Lydia shouted over the loud music. Morgan mouthed "Away" before pulling her into the kitchen. There were a few couples talking while sharing a drink, minding their own business. "Who are these people?" Lydia asked while looking around at the people around them. She had never seen these faces at the school.

Morgan giggled, "Everyone at school plus two!" She gushed.

Lydia shook her head and frowned, "Morgan, are you drunk already?" She asked. How didn't she notice before?

"Since before the party started! Everyone knows that they have to pre-drink!" She giggled maniacally.

"This is going to get messy." Lydia mumbled before walking off. She went through the kitchen doors and wanted to reel back in. There were drunk teenagers everywhere, trashing their bodies around to _Nookie _by _Limp Bizkit._

Lydia absentmindedly started rocking her head back and forth as she went up the stairs where the music got louder. She sighed as she stood before teenagers cramping the small hall space, all making out. What was this? She rolled her eyes, pushing past them. She felt some pinches and pokes but she ignored them, walking into Morgan's room. She stood frozen at the door. The couple on the bed glared up at her. Lydia returned the glare but slammed the door shut.

She went further down the hall, which seemed so much longer now, and tried getting into the bathroom. The door was locked and the light shone through the bottom. Ocupado. She turned just as a guy leaned on the wall next to her. He wasn't getting anything from her.

She sighed, seeing as the only other place she could hide in was the closet. She opened the door and looked around in it. Mostly cleaning supplies, tools and a few towels and blankets. Homey. She stepped in, looking out to see if anyone was looking at her. Of course no one was and she closed the door, sitting down in the small space. She crossed her legs, patting her knees to the beat of _Haunted _by _Evanescence. _Lydia scoffed at the irony of it.

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
>Still can't find what keeps me here<br>When all this time I've been so hollow inside  
>I know you're still there<em>

_Watching me, wanting me_  
><em>I can feel you pull me down<em>  
><em>Fearing you, loving you<em>  
><em>I won't let you pull me down<em>

_Hunting you, I can smell you - alive_  
><em>Your heart pounding in my head<em>

_Watching me, wanting me_  
><em>I can feel you pull me down<em>  
><em>Saving me, raping me, watching me<em>

_Watching me, wanting me_  
><em>I can feel you pull me down<em>  
><em>Fearing you... loving you<em>  
><em>I won't let you pull me down!<em>

Lydia sang softly until the song ended. "So very ironic." She mumbled to herself. _Chop Suey _by _System of a Down _started to play.

"Beetlejuice..." She said into the darkness.

_Why have you forsaken me?_

_In your eyes forsaken me,_

_In your thoughts forsaken me,_

_In your heart forsaken me, oh._

The song screamed over her voice, but she knew he would hear. _Ghosts _by _Michael Jackson _started playing and cheers went off in the house. So very fitting, she thought. "Beetlejuice." She said firmly. What am I doing, she wondered over and over.

Every second thought was blown away by that eerie chill that brushed her over shoulders. What would happen next, she didn't care.

_There's a tappin' in the floor,  
>There's a creak behind the door,<br>There's a rocking in the chair,  
>But nobody's sitting there.<br>There's a ghostly smell around,  
>But nobody to be found,<br>And a coughin' and a yawnin',  
>Where a restless soul is going.<em>

"Beetlejuice." She finished. She waited patiently for something to happen. Anything. But nothing came. Seconds turned to minutes which felt like hours and nothing happened. There was that feeling she feared. Rejection, loneliness...

Tears fell from her eyes in a mix of emotions. Fury, sadness, despair. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a breeze passed by. Breezes couldn't come in to that closet. She knew he was there. She snarled angrily, "Two years, B. Two _years_." She hissed. She was unsure if she was talking to herself or not but she didn't care up to this point. "You left me, without a word or explanation. Not even a goodbye. How did you think that would make me feel? Do you even care?" She asked, her anger rising in her voice.

"I know. I know you've been watching me, B. I know you have seen what you did to me and yet, you never came back, never gave me a sign that you were still there with me!" She spat. "I know you're there, B, show yourself!" She nearly screamed. That chill rolled over her hands softly. Lydia snatched her hands away and growled, "Now." She demanded.

A screwdriver rolled out from a tool box that was laying on the ground. It stopped in front of her and stood on the tip. It started carving into the wood.

_I can't._

"I know you can, B. Juno told me the deal." She hissed.

_Let me... rephrase... that... I don't... want to. _He wrote down slowly.

"Why not? Why did you leave? I need explanations, B. I need them now or I swear I'll go crazy!" She said frantically.

_Calm down...I haven't been watching you. I don't... _He scratched that out._ Do you have... any idea of what I almost got us... into?_

"Beetlejui-" The screwdriver stabbed itself into the wood, scaring the wits out of Lydia. "B, I don't care. That's all in the past. Why did you have to leave? You know... you know I miss you." She whispered in the end.

_I'm not... going to apologize, Lyds..._

"I don't want you to! I don't care about that I just want things to go back as they were! My life hasn't been normal since you left, B. I want my life back..." She pleaded.

_I don't need to be... a part of that. Before me... everything was fine..._

"Before you, life was meaningless. Before you, and Barbara and Adam." She said honestly, "You said it yourself. No one understands ghosts better than I do. I prefer them over the living, I find them to be interesting and really good friends and B, I don't care what might happen, I want to see you." She said firmly.

_I don't look too good, Lyds..._

"I don't care." She said.

_I can't here... someone might see me..._

"It's a Halloween party and they're drunk, possibly high. Don't look for excuses." She warned.

"I warned you..." Lydia shuddered at the sound of his voice. Was it even him? It didn't sound hyper and loud like she remembered it. The room's temperature plummeted to below freezing. She hugged herself tightly. How could it get so cold, so fast? Her breathing hitched. She got up to turn on the light. She hissed when the light hit her eyes but quickly hugged herself again. The light started the shake and flicker on and off. Lydia could see her breath as she breathed through her mouth.

She saw a mist seeping in through the space beneath the door. It floated up, passing her head. She watched as it started forming a body. She waited patiently as the mist slowly kept forming, so slowly. Usually he would appear quickly.

"I can't." He said gruffly. He sounded out of breath.

"B, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm too weak..." He mumbled.

Lydia bought her shaky hand up and reached out to touch him. She felt cold wood beneath her fingertips. Her hand went right through him. "Why? What's wrong with you? A-are you sick?" She asked.

"I'm dead. Of course I'm not sick." He said, his voice barely above a gruff whisper. "I haven't exactly been too active since... then." He mumbled awkwardly.

"What c-can fix it?" She asked, running her hand through him again curiously. The mist was cold as was the room.

"Food would help..." He said.

Lydia frowned, "You ha-haven't eaten in t-two years?" She asked, hugging herself tightly. It was getting too cold for her in there, so close to him.

"..."

"Well-" She gasped, the cold overbearing. "I c-c-can't... s-so co-ld." She managed to say before running out of the closet. The sudden change of temperature made her sweat. She started getting looks from the people in the party. She ignored them, dashing through them and down the hall, flying down the stairs and out the front door.

She walked down the sidewalk until she took the curve. She stopped, looking around. There were still people out trick or treating. What did it matter? "B..." She called out. She gasped as the area once again got cold. "God, why is it so cold?" She asked.

"That's what it feels like to be around an unhappy ghost." He mumbled simply. He stood behind her. "I should go-"

"No, no, you're not leaving me again. Not while I'm still breathing." She said sternly. She turned to face him and her eyes widened at the sight of him now that they were under the street light. He was very thin. His once unruly, crazy hair was dangling at his shoulders. His eyes were darker, not their usual dirty green color.

"I told you." He mumbled, running his hand through his slick hair.

"We need to-" She gasped at the cold, her breath coming out in mist. "God, BeeJay, it's free-freezing!" She hissed, hugging herself tightly.

"Why are ya wearin' such a revealing dress anyway?" He asked. Lydia felt goosebumps. His voice had some emotion in it and that warmed her heart. She wanted him to be okay, she needed to keep it going.

She smirked slightly, pulling the skirt out and turning side to side, "What? You don't like it?" She asked teasingly.

"Not now, Lydia." He said seriously, looking around to avoid looking at her.

"Right." She said seriously. "What exactly do you... crave?" She asked, having a good idea of what he had in mind, she grimaced.

He cocked his head to the side and he started to wander off past her. Lydia followed him with her gaze, wondering where he was going. She started following after him curiously. He stopped over a steaming manhole cover.

"Can ya say buffet?" He mumbled, patting his flat stomach. He started sinking in through the cover.

Lydia ran over, "Wait!" She called. He stopped, his head being the only thing on the surface. "How do I know you'll come back?" She asked, her voice worried and sad.

He sighed and Lydia shuddered, the cold air brushing over her shoulders dramatically. "You just hope I do, Lyds." He said before his head sunk into the hole.

Lydia felt bittersweet. On one side, there was a great chance he wouldn't come back. On a lighter note, she smiled, he called her Lyds.

"Lydia!"

Lydia turned around abruptly, coming face to face with Morgan, who just two feet away, tripped on her own feet and fell forward. Lydia caught her, struggling not to drop her. She helped her back to her feet and waited until she recomposed herself.

"Why are ya out 'ere all alone?" She asked. Her words were slurred together and her breath reeked, maybe worst than Beetlejuice's.

"I wasn't alone. I was with a friend." She said with a slight smile which vanished quickly.

Morgan looked around Lydia, "Where is he now?" She asked, sounding like a confused three year old. A drunk three year old.

"He went to get something to eat." She said simply, giving the manhole a glance.

Morgan furrowed her eyebrows and pouted, "Why din't ya bring 'em to da party? There's lotsa food in there." She said, swinging her arm back toward the house.

Lydia figured there was no point in lying, Morgan probably didn't understand most of what she was saying. "He doesn't eat what we do." She answered honestly.

Morgan started to nod her head over-dramatically, "Ohh, I get it!" She wailed, pointing a finger at Lydia and waving it up and down. Lydia considered that Morgan knew something for a moment. She became nervous. "He's a vegitrinarian!" She said smartly. All worry wiped off Lydia's face. She understood Morgan was trying to say vegetarian. "Personally, I dun like veggies! I like- I love soup." She managed to say before zoning off.

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows, waving a hand in front of Morgan's face but she just stared past her. Lydia turned around to see if there was anything there but there was nothing interesting, just some trick or treaters passing by.

"Have you been smoking, Morgan?" She asked scolding. Morgan didn't respond. Lydia gave her a shove in the shoulder. Her head snapped to face her friend. Morgan grinned, looking at her with expectant eyes. That's when Lydia noticed how glassy they were. "You're stoned, Morgan!" She shouted accusingly.

Morgan jammed her palm into Lydia's mouth, tripping on her feet. Lydia stumbled, trying to keep both her and Morgan's footing. Lydia slapped her friends hands away angrily. "Shh, shh, Lyddie! We can't have anybody knowing!" She tried to whisper but she was talking pretty loud. It was annoying.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the house, watching over everything? How are you going to do that when you're totally wasted?" She asked her friend, hoping she'd make sense of it.

Morgan seemed to think hard about it. Her head snapped up and realization dawned on her face. She gasped as it all hit her at once, "I came 'ere to find ya! Come on, you're missin' all da fun back there!" She said, going to grab Lydia's wrist but totally missing, grabbing at air.

Lydia looked from her own arm to Morgan's and then at Morgan's confused face with a raised eyebrow. She was hopelessly wasted. "Come on, Morgan." She said, grabbing her by the waist and walking her back to the house. This was going to be a loooong night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Again, I want to apologize for taking so long to update this story! I had no idea what to do but luckily, I got an idea and quickly used it! I know I don't deserve them for having left this abandoned so long but please review and let me know what you thought, I need to know people still like this and want to follow it through! Not that I have this chapter out of the way, new ones will be coming around more often! I don't blame you if you have lost interest or believe it's going downhill :(**_

_**I think that maaaayyybeeee I rushed them into being less depressed but I couldn't help it, I want them to be friends again! Don't you? :') **_

_**Reviews, please!**_


	11. Terror in the Haunted House

_**A/N: Ready for a short, fun chapter? Hope you enjoy it! OOC but it's because I'm steering onto the Beetlejuice cartoon. Haven't watched it? Go do so, right now.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Beetlejuice or it's characters. I only own Morgan, the previously used Hector and Joshua and now the king. I also do not own the music. I own the plot for this story. **_

* * *

><p>"Morgan, you need to get these people out of here." Lydia said, staring at the ticking clock. It was going to be midnight soon. She would be home past her curfew. She wouldn't hear the end of that. Her parents and ghost-parents would be worried sick.<p>

"But the party is just starting, Lydia!" Morgan gushed, thrashing around to the rock music playing loudly in the background.

"It's going to be midnight soon." Lydia pressed on. Morgan rolled her eyes and huffed, turning on her heel and clumsily running up the stairs and straight to her room, slamming the door angrily. Lydia sighed, "No, it's okay, I got this." She grumbled, turning to face the large crowd of people. There had to be well over a hundred people crammed into the house by now.

Lydia put on her game face and walked straight to the stereo, pressing the button and preparing for the loud boo's of the party-goers. She turned to face them, ignoring the glares, "Alright everyone, the party is over, go home." She said, her tone bored and flat.

"Oh come on, weird girl, turn the music back on." A boy dressed as a king said. His voice was slurred and heavy, he was obviously drunk.

She rolled her eyes. She knew half the people were stoned. Might as well take advantage of that. "I'm doing this for your own good. The ghosts don't like noise after midnight." She said, her face serious.

The same king boy arched his eyebrows, "There's no such thing as ghosts!" He shouted, laughing mockingly at her.

"Yes there is." She said with a smirk. "And they're not friendly. At least not the ones here. You should all go before they show up." She warned sternly. She looked around and everyone's attention was on her. "Specially you..." She pointed at someone under a white blanket with the eyes cut out. "They won't appreciate your costume." She said wearily.

"Listen, dude, there ain't no ghosts comin' so turn up the stereo and let's get this party started!" The king boy said drunkenly, making a move towards the stereo behind her.

"You really don't believe me? You can call them yourself. Summon them." She tested, raising her eyebrows at the boy, a small smile on her face.

"What? I ain't callin' no ghosts..."

"Scared?" Lydia interrupted, a smirk on her pale face. She raised her eyebrows, "Come on, your royal assness." She dared. Maybe she shouldn't have drank that third beer. Surprisingly Morgan can apply a great amount of peer pressure.

"What?" The king scoffed in disbelief.

"Dude, dude, do it, man." A blonde guy wearing a pumpkin costume encouraged. That guy was so stoned, Lydia noticed.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." He said, waving his hands to 'calm the audience'.

"Great. If they show up, you're all out of here." Lydia said, glaring at the audience. "Come on, everyone, help him out." She encouraged. They were so gullible. "Repeat after me." She said. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Beetlejuice."

"Beetle juice." The crowd repeated. They weren't in sync but it didn't really matter.

"Beetlejuice."

"Beetle juice." They responded.

"One more time. Loud! Beetlejuice!"

"BEETLE JUICE!" They all shouted.

Lydia grinned and opened her eyes. Everyone was looking around, whispering things and looking a bit spooked in anticipation.

"See? No stupid ghosts!" The king wailed mockingly, stepping into Lydia's personal space.

Suddenly there was a cold breeze that swept through. Some teens looked at the the door and windows, seeing it was all shut tight. Lydia grinned and stepped back. She sighed in relief after the mysterious wind blew.

"Who you callin' stupid, stupid?"

"What?" The king spun around to face the voice and was surprised to see there was no one standing there. He could have sworn there was someone right there.

"Over 'ere, numbskull."

The king turned and gasped, seeing a man draping his arm over Lydia's shoulders. He was tall and pale and most importantly, floating over the floor.

"What... what..."

"I'm a ghost! The ghost with the most to be exact." He said with a grin.

Lydia giggled at the sight before her. A large group of drunk teenagers looking pale and terrified. She felt so good right now. "Do your thing, BeeJay." Lydia encouraged.

"My pleasure." Beetlejuice grumbled, cracking his knuckles and neck before floating over to the obnoxious king. "So I hear you don't believe in ghosts, huh?" He asked into his ear. The boy froze and started to visibly shake. Beetlejuice almost laughed.

"I... I..." The king stuttered.

Beetlejuice quickly flew over to the frozen crowd. He landed with a loud thud, making them jump. "Boo." He said simply just before his skull opened and many tentacles came out, some mouths popping out and snapping at them, making little screech sounds.

The group screamed and started to panic, running in every direction, bumping into each other, dropping their drinks. They were all running over each other to escape out the door.

"Ah, ah! You all wanted a party so let's party!" He exclaimed, flying over the people, landing in front of the door and stopping them. "Come on!" He encouraged. His arms stretched out like taffy, going around the teens and hugging them together, trapping them in place. "Parties' a little dull. How about some music?" He suggested. With a wink of his eye, the stereo turned on and his favorite song started blaring through the house.

He laughed, taking on the voice of the lead singer of the band _Blitzkid _and singing the song.

_Faces in the windows._

_Bodies behind the doors._

_Pleas of help are scribbled_

_in the dust on the floor._

_Whoa oh oh. _

_HAHA!_

_Terror in the haunted house._

_There's laughter in the rafters._

_Fingers gliding down the wall._

_There's ghost's pulling heavy, heavy_

_chains down the hall._

Beetlejuice stopped singing when he spotted the good old king trying to sneak past him. "Hey! Where ya goin'?!" He exclaimed. He jerked his head and just like that the doors and windows disappeared, leaving the house in total darkness. Beetlejuice released the screaming teens and flew over to Lydia.

"Hey." He grumbled. "Nice party."

"Yeah." She chuckled. "Come on now, I'm not paying you to float around." She teased.

"Just takin' a breather." He mumbled. "Watch yourself." He warned quickly before he took a deep, deep breath and blew out on the fire place. Lydia gasped, watching as fire left his mouth and lit the firewood, lighting the room dimly. He smirked at her and turned to face the party that was huddled up together in the large living room. "Wow, someone outdid themselves with these here decorations!" He exclaimed, poking one of the hanging rubber bats. "Oh, look at that." He grumbled, sticking his hand into a bowl of fake spiders. "They look so... real." He said darkly.

He raised his arms and there was a thick silence as the party waited in terror for something evil to happen. Even Lydia stood there anxiously waiting. Suddenly there was a high-pitched scream. A girl ran out of the crowd, frantically patting herself and jumping in place, trying to shake off the tarantulas. As the people noticed, they all panicked, noticing all of the spiders crawling out toward them.

"Fly, my pretties!" Beetlejuice exclaimed, pointing a swarm of animated bats toward the obnoxious teens. Lydia gasped in surprise, laughing at the panicked teens as they squirmed around and ran into each other as the creatures harmlessly swarmed.

Beetlejuice quickly became bored of the creatures and with a snap of his fingers, they all became decorations again, falling lifelessly on the ground. "Enough!" He shouted. The teens all stopped what they were doing in fear that the ghost would hurt them. Beetlejuice grinned, loving this very much. "Let's play a game!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Mummy!" He announced and spun around.

"No!" Some teens screamed as black and red streamers flew off the walls and wrapped themselves around them quickly. Beetlejuice laughed and giggled, watching them squirm.

"Stop it!" The king shouted though his voice cracked with fear.

Beetlejuice held up his hands in surrender, the streamers stopping immediately. "Okay, okay..." He grumbled. He cracked a smile and spun around to face the king who always seemed to get away from him. "We can play something else." He purred maliciously. "Do ya like charades?" He hissed. All of a sudden he morphed into a giant tarantula, snapping it's fangs at him.

The king screamed and stumbled back, tripping over a random chair and falling to the ground. Beetlejuice took that chance to shrink down into a snake, black and white rings adorning it. He slithered up to the king and raised his head, hissing at him.

"Leave me alone!" He screeched. Lydia scoffed, laughing at his high-pitched tone and utter terror. Beetlejuice was doing such a great job, she was having so much fun. Too bad it had to come to an end.

"BeeJay! I think they've had enough." She announced. She walked over to Beetlejuice and held her arm out to him. He hissed and slithered up her arm, wrapping himself around it. "Okay, everyone! I got you!" She started.

"What? What do you mean?" The king asked in a shaky voice.

"It was a Halloween prank of course." She said, looking at him with a grin on her face.

"But... But the ghost!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah!" The terrified teens added.

"I have a hidden projector. It was all fake." She explained simply.

"But it felt so real!" A girl exclaimed, unwrapping herself from the streamers.

"And how do you explain the snake?" The king asked as he stood to his full height, trying to recompose himself.

"Slipped it there when you weren't looking." Lydia lied smoothly. "You saw the ghost so get out before I summon him again!" She snapped. Just then the doors and windows revealed themselves and in a matter of seconds, the party was gone, including the king.

Lydia sighed in relief and set Beetlejuice down where he could go back to his normal form. She grinned at him, "That was amazing!" She gushed.

Beetlejuice chuckled, "I do my best." He said, straightening his striped jacket. "Man, that was fun! I should do parties all the time!" He exclaimed jokingly.

"Thanks, BeeJay." Lydia mumbled, hiding her face from him.

"My pleasure." He said simply. "Wow, what a mess..." He grumbled. "I like it." He grinned.

Lydia sighed, "I have to clean it all up."

"No worries." Beetlejuice said. He whistled and suddenly things started moving and floating around. A broom swept here, a mop mopped there, the cups and bottles all fell into a black garbage bag, the roaches and blunts all fell into the bag as well, the seats and chairs all re-positioned themselves and the decorations went back as they were.

Lydia watched in awe, "How do you do that?" She whispered.

Beetlejuice shrugged, "I just can. Cool, ain't it?" He bragged as the last of the spiders crawled into the bowl.

Lydia shook her head and turned to face him, "Wait. If you can do that, why not keep your place clean too?" She asked curiously.

"'Cause I love mah filth." He explained. "Besides, sometimes it backfires." He grumbled.

"What? Did you say it backfires? How does it ever backfire?" Lydia asked in panic.

"Oh, nothin'! Sometimes things get a life of their own, sometimes things catch fire..." He explained halfheartedly.

"What?!" She shrieked, looking around frantically for anything out of place or on fire.

Beetlejuice rolled his eyes, "What? It's been a while, I'm a little rusty." He said sheepishly. He sighed and opened the door, letting a few bats out. "There, that should be it." He said, slamming the door and dusting his hands off.

Lydia giggled and shook her head, "Anyway... thanks for the help." She said, sitting on the floor in front of the still lit fireplace.

"My pleasure. It's my job anyway." He reminded her. Lydia glanced at him and nodded her head as she caught on.

"How's that going for you?" Lydia asked curiously.

Beetlejuice sighed and floated over to the fireplace, sitting next to her. "How do you think?" He grumbled.

Lydia tilted her head and scowled at him, "You were on vacation." She stated though it was more of a suggestion. "You're back in business now." She said with a smile, turning to look at the crackling fire.

"You really mean it? Even after... everything?" He asked in disbelief. His heart started racing. Metaphorically of course, his heart didn't really beat. Just sometimes.

Lydia sighed and nodded, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time." She admitted, looking down at her pale hands. She scoffed suddenly which earned a raised eyebrow from Beetlejuice. She turned her head to look at him with a fake scowl, "You, sir, owe me a mirror." She joked.

Beetlejuice's stomach twisted at the memory but he chuckled, "I'll get you two." He said jokingly.

"You better." Lydia concluded with a smile. Her features darkened as many questions flooded her mind. She tries to keep them to herself, she knows he doesn't want to talk about it.

"What?" Beetlejuice asked gruffly, turning his head to look at her curiously.

Lydia looked at him confused, "What, what?" She asked.

"What's wrong?" He asked more firmly.

"Nothing's wrong." She said with a light chuckle. She smiled and went back to staring at the flames, "Everything is perfect." She whispered.

Beetlejuice joined her in staring at the fire, "Let's hope it stays that way." He grumbled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hope you liked it! For those who are thinking this is a little OOC, I'm steering more onto the cartoon side of Beetlejuice. If you've never seen the cartoon, please do so, you won't regret it :) Anyway, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write it! I'll be patient for reviews but please review :') I love reviews, they really get me going! Motivation :D**_

_**The mood between them is lightening up, don't you think? Love it, hate it? Let me know!**_

_**The song is Terror in the Haunted House by Blitzkid. I thought it was fitting :)**_

_**Until next time! Love, Mutinous Pirate c:**_


End file.
